Today is an important solar term in Chinese tradition - the winter solstice. On this special day, many people celebrate the festival by eating dumplings or glutinous rice balls. As a cultural symbol, the winter solstice plays a pivotal role in the hearts of Chinese.
According to legend, the ancients used bamboo poles to measure the relationship between the sun and the earth, and the winter solstice and summer solstice were the first to be discovered from the length and shortness of the shadows. Among them, the day when the sun has the lowest altitude and the longest shadow is designated as the "winter solstice". The winter solstice is the longest day of the year, but it is also the beginning of the days that will get longer and longer. This means that after the longest winter night, warmth and spring are ahead.
The ancients said: "The winter solstice is as big as the year", which shows the importance of the winter solstice in people's hearts. On this day, people not only celebrate the arrival of the winter solstice, but also pray for blessings and reunions for the new year. In southern China, there are customs of worshipping ancestors, feasting, and eating glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice. In northern China, there is a custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice every year.
Whether it is dumplings or glutinous rice balls, the thin layer of crust is ever-changing, but they are all wrapped in delicious taste and infiltrated people's yearning for a better life. On this special day, let's taste delicious food together, share happiness, pray for the new year, and wish us all health and happiness, and all the best!