At present, December is about to pass halfway, most of the cities in the country have entered the winter, all along, the winter solstice is also known as the first day of the number nine, so some areas will also call the winter solstice "number nine", but, about the other names of the winter solstice, how much do you know about it, let's talk about the winter solstice and what festival is called.
What is the winter solstice called?
The winter solstice is also called the winter festival and the long solstice festival. The origin of the name Winter Festival is a common name that appears due to solar terms and festivals, and has both natural and humanistic connotations. After the summer solstice, the days in China are getting shorter, reaching the extreme point of the winter solstice, and then the days are getting longer, so the winter solstice is also called "long solstice". In addition, the winter solstice is also called the southern solstice, the sub-year, etc.
Winter solsticeOrigin
Legend has it that as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, China had used Tugui to observe the sun and determine the winter solstice. At the same time, the winter solstice is also the earliest of the 24 solar terms. During the Yin and Zhou dynasties, the day before the winter solstice was stipulated as the end of the year, and the winter solstice festival was equivalent to the Spring Festival. Later, a summer calendar was implemented. But the winter solstice has always been at the top of the 24 solar terms, called "sub-year".
People originally celebrated the Winter Solstice Festival to celebrate the arrival of the new year. The ancients believed that since the winter solstice, the yang energy of heaven and earth began to grow stronger, representing the beginning of the next cycle and the day of good fortune. Therefore, later Xi customs such as ancestor worship and family dinners during the Spring Festival often appeared on the winter solstice. The winter solstice as a festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and has been along to this day.
The gastronomic customs of the winter solstice
The south eats glutinous rice balls.
For a long time, there has been a saying among the people that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". Especially in the Jiangnan area, eating rice balls on the winter solstice is a very popular traditional Xi. Tangyuan is also called "soup ball", and eating soup ball on the winter solstice is also called "winter solstice group". The "Winter Solstice Group" can be used to worship ancestors, and can also be used to give gifts to relatives and friends. In the old days, Shanghainese people were the most particular about eating soup dumplings. At the family feast, they try freshly brewed sweet white wine, flower cakes and glutinous rice flour balls, and then use pieces of meat on a plate to worship their ancestors.
Dumplings are eaten in the north.
As the saying goes, "winter solstice dumplings and summer solstice noodles", there is a common custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice in festivals in northern regions. In addition, eating "pinching frozen ears" is the common name of Henan people eating dumplings on the winter solstice, mainly because the dumplings look like ears, and it is said that after eating, people can not freeze their ears in the cold winter.