Winter Solstice - Differences in Customs Between Northern And Southern China

Winter Solstice (Pinyin: dōng zhì), also known as Winter Festival and Winter Solstice, is one of the twenty-four solar terms, falling on December 21st, 22nd or 23rd. On this day, the sun passes through the winter solstice, and the day is the shortest and the night is the longest in the Northern Hemisphere.

The opposite of the summer solstice. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year. The winter solstice in the northern hemisphere generally falls between December 21st and December 23rd in the Western calendar. The lunar calendar uses the month of the winter solstice to define November.

On the winter solstice, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn: sun rays, earth axis, arctic circle, tropic of cancer, equator, tropic of capricorn, antarctic circle.

Starting from the winter solstice, we have entered the "Nine Counting Cold Days". From then on, every nine days is a unit, called a "Nine". After nine "Nine"s, eighty-one days, it is "out of the Nine", and it is the time of spring flowers. Open season. "Nine-Nine Songs" said: "One thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine does not take action, three-nine-nine and four-nine walk on the ice, five-nine and six-nine look at the willows, the seven-nine river opens, the eight-nine wild geese come, the nine-nine plus one nine, the cattle are everywhere. "

After the winter solstice, the days become longer and the Yang energy rises. It is the beginning of a solar cycle, just like the beginning of a new year. Therefore, people regard this day as an auspicious day worthy of celebration. The winter solstice festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and is still used today. "Qing Jia Lu" says that "the winter solstice is as big as the new year". Nowadays, the traditions of celebrating the Winter Solstice vary across China, but most of them have the custom of worshiping ancestors. Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would go to the Temple of Heaven to hold ceremonies to offer sacrifices to heaven. In ancient Korea, the Winter Solstice was as important as New Year's Day. A celebration banquet called the "Huili Banquet" was held in the palace, and "Winter Solstice Envoys" were sent to China. Additionally, everyone in the palace is given a calendar as a gift. In addition, it is said that during the Goryeo Dynasty and the early Joseon Dynasty, there was a custom of canceling all previous debts so that people could spend this day in a new and good mood.

According to the ancients, the winter solstice is a quiet festival. This is to adapt to the weather and geography when the Yang Qi is just sprouting - it is weak at first and needs to be cared for by everyone. The tranquility of the world helps the micro Qi to form all things, and together we create a healthy and bright spring. Therefore, on this day, city gates are closed, markets are closed, fighting is stopped, and noise is prohibited. Therefore, the winter solstice night is the quietest night of the year.

North of China
Winter Solstice Dumplings

Winter Solstice food customs in the north:

There is a proverb "Winter Solstice Dumplings and Summer Solstice Noodles". It is believed that winter is cold and the human body consumes a lot of calories, so we should eat more nutritious foods to replenish calories. Therefore, there is a custom of eating dumplings and wontons on the Winter Solstice: Eating wontons means breaking the yin and releasing the yang, expressing the chaotic state of the universe at the handover of the old and the new in the winter solstice, and also means opening up the world personally; and eating dumplings is also commonly known as "An'er" (squeezing dumplings to resemble ears) Folk customs believe that if you don't eat dumplings on the winter solstice, your ears will freeze off, which will also be detrimental to the harvest; another saying is that eating dumplings is to commemorate Zhang Zhongjing, the king of medicine. Dumplings, wontons and steamed buns are also eaten by family members around the table, which is called "steamed winter". Of course, there are exceptions. For example, in Zaozhuang, Sichuan and Shandong, the custom of drinking mutton soup on the winter solstice is popular, which means to drive away the cold. Food customs vary from place to place, but eating dumplings is the most common.
Chen Yuanliang of the Southern Song Dynasty mentioned in "Sui Shi Guang Ji": "People in the capital eat more wontons during the winter solstice."
Zhou Mi of the Southern Song Dynasty mentioned in "S: Old Wulin Stories/Volume 3": "Wontons are the first thing to enjoy."
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a record of folk customs at that time: "On the winter solstice, ancestors were worshiped, wontons were eaten, and the yin and yang embryos were taken, including Hun Han."
Hebei's "Baxiang County Chronicle" mentioned: "On the winter solstice, make wontons for food, and take the sky from the sky." Chaos is beginning to separate, and eating it can make people smarter. "
Legend has it that Zhang Zhongjing, a medical sage in the late Han Dynasty, commemorated the hard work of the villagers in his hometown in the cold winter. On the winter solstice, he used mutton and other cold-repelling medicinal materials to wrap them in dough and make them into the shape of ears to treat diseases and replenish the health of the villagers. The name of this prescription is called "Quhan Jiao Er Soup", Jiao Er is dumplings.
According to customs first recorded in "S: Jingchu Sui Shi Ji", some places in Shaanxi will eat red bean porridge during the winter solstice, believing that it can drive away plague ghosts to avoid the epidemic and fortune telling. According to legend, the plague ghost is the son of Gonggong who died on the winter solstice. Later incarnation. Traditionally, the Chinese people have always used red beans, adzuki beans, peach trees and other "gods" that can ward off disasters and epidemics to accompany the festival. There is also a saying that "cut the grass into horses, scatter beans into soldiers", Mr. Pingshan's "Solstice Poems" "" also described: "The custom of bean paste is disgusting and pity for Jing, and the clouds and books are auspicious to recall Lutai." Later, this custom was merged with the Laba porridge during the Winter La festival, and the folk memory inheritance became blurred.
"Drinking by the stove": Both the fire and the wine are warm. Warming the wine around the stove and drinking together together not only support the Yang but also celebrate the festival.
A few Han and Korean people in the north also eat dog meat, thinking it is a great tonic.
Manchu banner people in the north worship both heaven and ancestors during the winter solstice: on the night of the winter solstice, families will lay out tables and offer tables in the courtyard, hang "Heaven and Earth Men", and kill pigs for sacrifice; at the same time, they will worship their ancestors and set up ancestor poles in the courtyard. , the top of the pole is in the shape of a gourd, with a "Diao Dou" underneath. Relatives and friends who participated in the ceremony were given a share of the meat used in the sacrifice (called "white meat") for "eating white meat"; while the pig intestines and urine were thrown into the dou for the birds to eat.
Around the winter solstice in the north, it is also a time for old landlords to collect debts. Poor people often go out to beg for food, and various communities and warehouses provide relief. People also like to clear snow and make tea, thinking it helps with fitness.

south part of China
Rice dumplings eaten on the winter solstice in Fuzhou City

Winter Solstice food customs in the South. In some places, there is the custom of eating sweets such as glutinous rice dumplings and glutinous rice cakes during the Winter Solstice solar eclipse:

On the Winter Solstice, round foods made of rice and noodles are eaten, namely "glutinous rice dumplings", "dumplings" and "reunion zi" (called "meat balls" in northern China). The round shape symbolizes the sky and the yang, which means reunion at the end of the year. Those dumplings with fillings are used to worship ancestors, while those without fillings are used to worship gods. People in coastal areas often make rice dumplings red and white to symbolize the harmony of yin and yang. Eating glutinous rice balls during the Winter Solstice also symbolizes being one year older. In addition to eating happily, there is also a folk custom of "drying winter rice". After washing the white rice, it is exposed to the sun on the winter solstice and is left for those who are sick in the future to cook porridge.
There is a proverb: "If you want to be rich, eat a piece of hot tofu during the winter solstice." It is popular among southern people to take advantage of the winter solstice, the eve of the transition from farming to another year, to eat tofu for nourishment and to select seeds at the same time, which is called "Tofu Festival".
In Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, in addition to eating glutinous rice dumplings during the Winter Solstice, they also eat sweet-scented osmanthus rice wine and worship their ancestors.
It is a custom in Suzhou that family members gather together for a reunion dinner on the winter solstice. If a family member goes out, a set of bowls and chopsticks will be left as a souvenir. The meal includes worshiping the ancestors before the meal. The meals include whole chicken, whole duck, large herring, braised pork leg, etc. In addition, there is also the custom of drinking winter solstice wine. The wine is made with wine and sugar. It is usually the sweet-scented osmanthus winter wine made only on the winter solstice. It is suitable for all ages.
In southern Guangdong, people in Guangzhou traditionally celebrate the winter solstice by worshiping their ancestors, eating glutinous rice balls, making cured glutinous rice, slaughtering chickens and ducks to stew eight rare and precious cooking ingredients, while the villagers in the outer suburbs of Guangzhou In the old days, on the winter solstice, cattle would be fed glutinous rice cakes, rice juice, distiller's grains, radish, vegetable water, etc. to reward them for their hard work in the past year and to pray that the cattle would continue to provide their owners with a bumper harvest in the coming year.
In Fuzhou and Matsu areas of Fujian, a food similar to glutinous rice balls is eaten during the Winter Solstice: .
In addition, there is also the custom of eating long noodles, which symbolizes longevity and hopes that the day length will gradually lengthen after the winter solstice and the earth will return to spring as soon as possible. "Mengliang Lu/Volume 06" mentions that "after the first yang, the sundial gradually grows longer, and compared with the mengyue, it adds a glimmer of merit."
Sweeping graves during the Winter Solstice Festival is called "winter paper". This custom exists in some places in southern Fujian and Puxian areas to express the coexistence of the souls of descendants and ancestors.
A food divination game is also popular in Jiangnan, using glutinous rice balls as symbols of people, and praying for fertility through divination:
Put rice balls in the bamboo sieve, and take out two at a time. If there is 1 rice ball left in the end, it is believed that a boy will be born. If there are 2 rice balls left, it is believed that a girl will be born.
Winter Festival dumplings made of glutinous rice are roasted over fire. If the glutinous rice balls are swollen but not cracked, it is considered a good sign to give birth to a boy. If the glutinous rice balls are swollen and cracked, it is considered to be a sign of giving birth to a girl.