One winter solstice a year, one year old and one healthy. At 11:27 on December 22, Beijing time, the winter solstice solar term was ushered in, which is a cold season and a time to look forward to spring. The winter solstice is here, will spring be far away?
Tianjin folk customs experts, columnists introduced by the National Day, the winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night in the northern hemisphere throughout the year, and it is also the day of the transformation of yin and yang.
When the winter solstice arrived, the "counting nine cold days" began, which is often referred to as "entering nine". Since ancient times, there has been a custom of "counting nine" among the people in our country, also known as "winter ninety-nine" and "handing nine", from the winter solstice, every nine days counts as a "nine", counting "ninety-nine" eighty-one days, commonly known as "even winter nine". After "nine peach blossoms" and "nine out of nine", the cold winter is almost over, and the warm spring is coming.
Regarding "Counting Nine", there are many different versions of "Ninety-Nine Songs", "Counting Nine Songs", "Ninety-Nine Chilling Songs" and "Chilling Pictures" and so on. Among them, the well-known "Counting Nine Songs" are: 1929 does not shoot, 3949 walks on the ice, 5969 looks at the willows along the river, 79 rivers open, ** geese come, 99 plus 19, ploughing cattle everywhere.
In addition to "counting nine", there are also people who take 9 words of nine paintings to form a sentence, in the way of describing red, every day to draw a stroke, after the description of 9 words is the day of the cold spring return, the more common sentences are "the weeping willows in front of the pavilion cherish the spring breeze (wind)" and so on.
On the day of the winter solstice, people have special dietary customs, and in the past, they paid attention to "the winter solstice is as big as the year", and also prayed for health, happiness and auspiciousness.
Introduced by the National Day, the north has always had the custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice, usually with mutton, green onions, leeks, radishes and other ingredients to make fillings, these ingredients are warm, can play a role in warming up the body. The most representative food in the southern region on this day is tangyuan, because tangyuan has the beautiful meaning of consummation, reunion, and reunion.
On the day of the winter solstice, you might as well make an appointment with three or five friends to sit around the fireplace and experience the feeling of "the winter solstice is as big as the year", or eat a plate of steaming dumplings, or come to a bowl of soft glutinous and sweet glutinous rice balls, with a longing for a better life, count the days and look forward to the return of spring.
Co-ordinator: Liu Xinhui, Shao Xiangyun.
Reporter: Zhou Runjian.
Poster Production: Tranquility.
Editor: Li Min.
Jointly produced by Xinhua News Agency and Tianjin Branch.
Produced by the Festival Studio.