Chinanews Client Beijing, December 21st (Reporter Shangguanyun) Time goes by, and the stars change.

In a blink of an eye, the winter solstice is coming again.

Among the twenty-four solar terms, it is a very special one, and was also called "Ya Sui" in ancient times.

　　So far, the Winter Solstice occupies an important position in people's minds, and discussions about it have never stopped.

Eating dumplings, eating glutinous rice balls... For many people, having a delicacy that belongs to the winter solstice at this time also represents the expectation of a reunion in the Spring Festival soon.

Is it a festival?

　　Winter Solstice is one of the twenty-four solar terms, also known as "Winter Festival" and "Hedong".

There are also sayings that it is both a solar term and a festival. It was the New Year's Day in the Zhou Dynasty. It was a very lively day.

Data map: On the occasion of the winter solstice of the traditional Chinese festival, the staff of the Funiu Mountain Ski Resort in Luoyang, Henan used tens of thousands of dumplings on the snow to create a giant colorful dumpling with a length of 7.32 meters and a width of 3.66 meters to welcome the traditional festival.

Photo by Wang Zhongju

　　In ancient books, it seems that the winter solstice is a festival.

There is a documentary record: "The sun rises in the winter solstice, the monarch is long, so he..." That is to say, people first celebrate the winter solstice to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

　　The winter solstice as a festival came from the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties.

However, the first month of the weekly calendar is the November of the Xia calendar. Therefore, the first month of the Zhou Dynasty is equal to the current November. There is actually not much difference between New Year's greetings and He Dong.

　　However, some scholars believe that, strictly speaking, the winter solstice is not a festival.

Folklore expert Wang Juan said, “This solar term appeared very early, and the way of celebration appeared earlier, but it cannot simply be equated with the festival we are now talking about.”

　　"In ancient times, many important events were held in the winter solstice, with rich content, but different celebration methods were different in different places, and there were great differences." She explained that the usual folk activities, probably including giving shoes to the elders, "number Nine", draw a picture of cold relief, etc.

　　Wang Juan said, “There is a saying that there will be a grand ceremony to pay tribute to Confucius in the winter solstice, but this is not a celebration in the general sense. Therefore, the winter solstice is still different from the traditional holiday New Year we are talking about today.”

The winter solstice as "Ya Sui"

　　Putting aside the "is it a holiday" discussion, in the twenty-four solar terms, the winter solstice is indeed a special existence.

It is when the yin qi is rising and the yang qi occurs, and it is also the starting point for the traditional calculation of the twenty-four solar terms.

Data map: On the day of the "Winter Solstice" solar term, a long-established mutton restaurant in Chongqing had a booming business. Many citizens waited in long queues for tonic. Some citizens bought mutton and cooked it for themselves.

Photo by Zhou Yi

　　In the concept of the ancients, the winter solstice lived in the time when the old and the new were replaced, so it naturally had an extraordinary cultural significance. Many customs and rituals in the winter solstice festival originated from people's feelings about this time.

　　The Book of the Later Han Dynasty records: “A gentleman stays calm and calms his body around the winter solstice. He does not listen to politics and chooses a good time and saves trouble.” On this day, the court will take a holiday and enjoy a "secure and calm" festival.

　　Later, the custom of worshipping ancestors and family dinners during the Spring Festival also often appeared in the winter solstice.

The winter solstice was once called "Xiao Nian", which shows its importance.

During the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, the winter solstice was called "Ya Sui", and people wanted to pay respects to their parents and elders.

　　After the Song Dynasty, the Winter Solstice gradually became a festival to worship ancestors and gods.

Among the folks, the scale of worshipping ancestors is much smaller, and people are more obedient to some customary customs, such as eating wonton, red bean rice and so on.

Solar term food, not just to satisfy the taste buds

　　"There are different styles in a hundred miles, and different customs in a thousand miles." The meaning of the winter solstice to people is not just as simple as a time node.

　　An article mentioned that the people of Suzhou in the Qing Dynasty "the heaviest winter solstice festival". The day before the winter solstice, relatives and friends gave each other festive food.

　　The seasonal food for the Suzhou Winter Solstice is the Winter Solstice Dumpling, which is made of glutinous rice flour, wrapped in sugar meat, vegetables, fruit, pea paste, shredded radish, etc.

People use it to worship the stove, and give each other as a gift.

Data map: The picture shows the Wufu dumpling feast to welcome the winter solstice.

Photo by Han Zhangyun

　　Most northerners are used to eating dumplings at this time, and some places in the south are willing to have a bowl of dumplings.

After the winter solstice is the time when the yang is coming, the green color is easy to think of spring. In some places, a little greens will be specially eaten at this time to show compliance with the weather. In the cold winter, we look forward to the early arrival of the season of birds and flowers.

　　So, whether you eat dumplings or wontons, people don’t care about the satisfaction of their taste buds.

　　From the ancient name of "Ya Sui" to the winter solstice night that is often mentioned nowadays, everyone pays so much attention to this ancient solar term, probably because it always appears at the end of the year and is no longer far away from the reunion of the Spring Festival.

　　"Eating the winter solstice noodles, the day is long." After the winter solstice, as time goes by, the days gradually become longer, the nights become shorter, and the pace of spring is slowly approaching.

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