Why is the winter solstice so popular in Jiangnan?
The ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice, and thought that the winter solstice was an opportunity for chaos and recovery, so it should be celebrated. The celebration ceremony began in the Han Dynasty and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. The day before winter is called "Xiao Zhi" or "Xiaodong" or "Dongchu"; "Winter solstice" is called "long solstice" or "big winter" and "winter festival"; The second day of winter solstice is called "the solstice after winter", and this festival lasts for three days. "Hundreds of officials greet you, and you don't listen to politics." People rest for three days and students have a holiday. The proverb says, "In the winter solstice of the tenth year, teachers never give money.". The winter solstice is like a festival, and the host will not let go (work). Therefore, the winter solstice is also called "off-year" and "off-year". The winter solstice is the first time to worship ancestors, and the instrument is like Zheng Dan. " (Records of Lintong County, Shaanxi Province) "Miscellaneous Notes on the Age of Wuzhong" contains: "The winter solstice is as big as a year. In the winter solstice, the people in the county are the heaviest. On the first day, relatives and friends gave each other food, carried baskets and boxes, and flooded the road, commonly known as the winter solstice plate. The night before the festival, commonly known as "winter solstice night." That night, people exchanged Yan for drinking, which is called' saving wine'. If a woman marries and returns to her home, she will return to her husband's home. Families, big or small, should enjoy food first, and occasionally some people hang the remains of their ancestors. Various essays are added to regular festivals, so there is a rumor that winter solstice is as big as a year. "Shenze County Records also records" winter solstice, first offering sacrifices to heaven, worshipping elders, New Year's Day and other ceremonies ". The custom of the winter solstice festival is "winter solstice wonton, summer solstice cotton" (in the north). In the south, we eat winter solstice jiaozi, winter solstice rice, worship teachers and gods, and the rich and the poor are uneven. We go into socks and walk in Uncle menstruation's house. All the places are the same, just like the Spring Festival. Wu Zhong Ji Nian Miscellaneous Notes also recorded Cai Yun's Wu Bei: "There are several families hanging XiShen and rushing to worship the heaven in the early morning. The winter is fat and the life is different, and it is still attacking Jijia Jianzichun. "According to records, the main customs of the winter solstice are festivals, sacrifices to gods, fat in winter and thin in years. And also pointed out that the reason for the formation of "the winter solstice is as big as a year" is that "it is still attacking her home and making a spring." "Jane Zi Chun" means that spring begins in the first month, that is, the first month of the year, that is, the first month of the year. Ji surname refers to Ji surname family. The emperor of the Zhou Dynasty was surnamed Ji, and Ji's surname here refers to the Zhou Dynasty. "Ji Jia Jia Zi Chun" means that the time series of the Zhou Dynasty is recorded in heavenly stems and earthly branches, the December of a year is represented by twelve earthly branches, and the second month is called "Jia Zi", that is, the winter month, that is, the November of the lunar calendar. According to the book "Closed Sutra", "The Yellow Emperor's strategy of getting a treasure tripod is to start all over again by being old and being strong, winning the winter solstice and winning the discipline of heaven." That is to say, the winter solstice is regarded as New Year's Day (New Year's Day) in the Yellow Emperor, not only after the Zhou Dynasty ("Ji Jia") and "Jian Zichun", but also the saying that the winter solstice is annual ("New Year's Day") has a long history. Later, the origin of the winter solstice was originally due to the annual winter solstice. The custom of winter solstice was originally a remnant of the annual custom of Zhou Dynasty. However, with the passage of time and the change of calendar, the winter solstice has been gradually forgotten. Nowadays, counties in Shijiazhuang no longer celebrate the "winter solstice" like the Chinese New Year, and even the winter solstice has little festive atmosphere.
As an important festival, the winter solstice lasts for a long time and has a great influence on people's lives. It has a deep connection with the winter solstice in concept, behavior and language. Especially in terms of diet, it has been re-touched by the festive atmosphere from the winter solstice to the sun, forming a rich and unique diet custom, creating and inheriting some seasonal foods and cooking and brewing methods, which have been loved by the broad masses of the people so far.
Holiday foods such as jiaozi and wonton are all over the country, from Taiwan Province Province to Heilongjiang Province, and the proverb "Solstice Noodle in Winter and Solstice Noodle in Summer in jiaozi" is circulating everywhere.
Jiaozi and wonton are very popular foods for people of all ethnic groups in China. They are not only used to improve and entertain guests on holidays, but also used as "home-cooked meals" at ordinary times. Entering modern society, the pace of people's life has been greatly accelerated. Jiaozi and wonton have become popular commodity fast food, and jiaozi shops and wonton shops abound, gaining the reputation of "delicious as jiaozi". Jiaozi, as the main seasonal food from winter solstice, is different from daily diet and fast food. Eating jiaozi and wonton on the solstice in winter has unique cultural significance. Such as wonton, Sichuan people call it "wonton" and Guangdong people call it "wonton", which was popular at the latest in the Three Kingdoms period. Because it is boiled like a poached egg, it is the beginning of chaos, so it is named "wonton". Eating wonton on the solstice of winter is not to celebrate the beginning of chaos, but to celebrate the birth of "Yiyang", which is equivalent to the beginning of chaos. The history of eating jiaozi can be traced back to the end of Han Dynasty. At that time, a "medical god" Zhang Zhongjing was unearthed in Nanyang, Henan. He used to be an official in Changsha Bureau and retired to his hometown. It was the twelfth lunar month. Zhang Zhongjing saw the poor people running around naked all day, facing the biting snow and ice, many people's ears were frozen and rotten, and his heart was very uncomfortable. On the winter solstice, he asked his disciples to practice medicine for him. He set up a medical shed and a stove in Dongguan, Nanyang. He specially cooked a "cold-dispelling and charming ear soup" for the poor to drink to treat ear frostbite. This medicine soup is made of mutton, pepper and some herbs for dispelling cold and keeping warm. People mixed the soup together. He fished out the remaining mutton and herbs, chopped them up, wrapped them into ears with flour bags, called "corners" (some wrote "corners" and "corners"), cooked them in a pot and gave them to everyone. After eating "Joule" in the soup, people feel feverish all over and their ears are feverish, and their frozen ears are cured and preserved. When it is coldest in winter, people's ears are easily frostbitten. Every winter solstice, people imitate Zhang Zhongjing to cook "Joule" and mix it with hot soup, which has become a custom over time. Joule has been around for a long time, and jiaozi. The custom of eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter has been passed down from generation to generation.
Zi Yuan is one of the most important winter solstice foods circulating in South China, also known as jiaozi, Reunion jiaozi, meatballs, glutinous rice balls and winter solstice meatballs. There are glutinous rice noodles and stuffed ones. There is a saying in ancient poetry that "every family gathers for rice reunion, just like the winter solstice in the Ming Dynasty". Because the dumplings are round and can compete for "Yangyuan", the main purpose of eating them in winter solstice is to celebrate "Yangyuan", but also to pray for reunion and celebration. About the origin of eating dumplings, there is a legend in southern Zhejiang: According to legend, a woodcutter went up the mountain to cut wood a long time ago, and accidentally fell into a deep stream, so he couldn't escape, so he picked a wild thing like dumplings to satisfy his hunger, so as not to starve to death. Ten years later, the woodcutter was as light as a swallow, but he flew home, but he couldn't speak or eat rice. His family made zongzi for him. When he saw it, he thought it was Polygonatum sibiricum and ginger, so he ate it. Later, he slowly recovered his nature and began to talk with his family about the winter solstice. Since then, it has been the custom to eat glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter.
Lingnan Mingyue says, "Every family is full of wine, and the shad and silver carp recommend new arrivals". It can be seen that the Lingnan generation attaches importance to eating fish from winter to day, and eating fish is to "bring forth the old and bring forth the new". Fish and novelty belong to Yang. Eating fish also means "supporting Yang".
In food processing, people also have a lot of creation and experience accumulation from winter to day. For example, most people in Zhejiang rice milling in winter solstice, which is called "winter rice milling". It is said that rice milling on this day can avoid brittleness and excessive scratches and reduce losses. This day's food will not go bad if it is kept for a long time. Shaoxing people brew "winter wine", such as "red wine", which is milky white, fragrant and particularly attractive; "Dimple wine" and "honey treat guests" made by special technology are the best products for the elderly and farewell relatives. On the solstice of winter, people in Ningyuan, Hunan "cut more chickens and kill pigs, and dry the meat in the shade" and made "very delicious" "Winter solstice meat". For top and the like, there is still research and development value.
Since winter solstice, the days have become longer and longer. People take the shadow of the sun before noon as the standard and say, "After winter, an onion grows every day". So it is also called "Dragon Come". Since the Han and Tang dynasties, ladies-in-waiting have used an extra thread every day from winter to the future. This is what the folks say, "After eating the winter solstice meal, the queue will become longer one day." Since the winter solstice, people often draw 8 1 petal on plum blossoms, which is called "99 cold map". If a petal is painted red every day, it will be "Jiujiu", so the solstice in winter is also called "Counting Nine".
"Winter solstice wonton, summer solstice noodles", a considerable number of people in Shandong Province will eat wonton or jiaozi on this day. Some people even drink. It is said that drinking is to warm the body. Eating jiaozi is afraid of freezing ears. "jiaozi" is homophonic with "rubber ears". Linyi, Zoucheng and Xintai have the custom of steaming winter. Linyi whole grains steamed bread, Zoucheng steamed bread. It is said that steaming winter is to pray for wind in the coming year. The folk song says, "Steaming in winter, steaming in winter, there is wind in the field." In ancient times, steaming winter was to celebrate the sun solstice. After the winter solstice, the sun was born, just as Du Fu wrote in his poem, "The sun was born in the winter solstice, and spring came again." People use glutinous rice flour to make rice balls, which are called Tuanjiezi or Winter Solstice Ball, symbolizing reunion. Bobo and steamed buns are the evolution of reunion.
The ancient solstice attached great importance to winter. The ancients believed that the solstice in winter was an opportunity for chaos and recovery. The celebration ceremony has been held since the Han Dynasty and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. The day before solstice winter is called minor solstice or minor winter, while solstice winter is called long solstice or major winter. The day after winter, the solstice is named the solstice. On the third day of the festival, hundreds of officials greet each other, but you don't listen to the government. On the third day, the people closed and the students had a holiday. Folk songs say that "the solstice in winter is as big as a year", so in the old society, Lijin, Xiajin and other places are also called Zinian and Xiaonian, which are similar to the Spring Festival, but there is no New Year greeting. In Jinan, Jiyang, Fushan and other places, the government celebrated like the Chinese New Year, and literati also gave each other congratulatory films. The scholar-bureaucrat class in Juxian held a reception, which was called the "Cold Elimination Meeting" and drew a "Cold Elimination Map". Zoucheng painted "Nine Nine Paintings", at the same time, relatives and friends gave each other warm utensils, while the children of the farmers played the game of "occupying the village" and "playing tiles". Teenagers began to learn martial arts, calling it "watching winter", but they didn't have the habit of congratulating each other. It is said that Mencius died on the winter solstice, and the villagers were very sad, so they canceled the ceremony to celebrate the winter solstice. In other parts of Shandong province, students generally worship teachers, younger generations and elders, and farmers have the custom of worshipping their ancestors. Linyi folk believe that the solstice in winter is the day to send cold clothes and repair houses to the dead. Every household cuts clothes with fire paper, burns them in front of the tomb, and adds soil. Juxian county worships ancestors in the ancestral temple, and the ceremony is very grand. It is an ancient custom in Laoshan County to divide the winter solstice into two days. The first day is called "Ghost Winter", which is the day to worship ancestors and eat jiaozi. The next day is called "human winter", and we eat steamed stuffed buns. Women in Linyi, Licheng and Linqu are used to going back to their parents' homes. Qingyun and Emperor Wu began to cellar vegetables from this day, and women began to sew. Zoucheng began to build cellars, weave mats and spin yarns. Rizhao folklore If the clouds meet the sunrise and the clouds meet the sunset on the solstice in winter, then the coming year will be a good year. According to the date of winter solstice, Jimo people predict the cold and warm in the winter at the beginning, middle or end of the month. The folk song says: "Frozen cows in winter, warm in winter, frozen ghosts in winter."
The ancients attached great importance to the winter solstice, and thought that the winter solstice was an opportunity for chaos and recovery, so it should be celebrated. The celebration ceremony began in the Han Dynasty and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. The day before winter is called "Xiao Zhi" or "Xiaodong" and "Dongchu"; "Winter solstice" is called "long solstice" or "big winter" and "winter festival"; The second day of winter solstice is called "the solstice after winter", and this festival lasts for three days. "Hundreds of officials greet you, and you don't listen to politics." People rest for three days and students have a holiday. The proverb says, "In the winter solstice of the tenth year, teachers never give money.". The winter solstice is like a festival, and the host will not let go (work). Therefore, the winter solstice is also called "off-year" and "off-year". The winter solstice is the first time to worship ancestors, and the instrument is like Zheng Dan. " (Records of Lintong County, Shaanxi Province) "Miscellaneous Notes on the Age of Wuzhong" contains: "The winter solstice is as big as a year. In the winter solstice, the people in the county are the heaviest. On the first day, relatives and friends gave each other food, carried baskets and boxes, and flooded the road, commonly known as the winter solstice plate. The night before the festival, commonly known as "winter solstice night." That night, people exchanged Yan for drinking, which is called' saving wine'. If a woman marries and returns to her home, she will return to her husband's home. Families, big or small, should enjoy food first, and occasionally some people hang the remains of their ancestors. Various essays are added to regular festivals, so there is a rumor that winter solstice is as big as a year. "Shenze County Records also records" winter solstice, first offering sacrifices to heaven, worshipping elders, New Year's Day and other ceremonies ". The custom of the winter solstice festival is "winter solstice wonton, summer solstice cotton" (in the north). In the south, we eat winter solstice jiaozi, winter solstice rice, worship teachers and gods, and the rich and the poor are uneven. We go into socks and walk in Uncle menstruation's house. All the places are the same, just like the Spring Festival. Wu Zhong Ji Nian Miscellaneous Notes also recorded Cai Yun's Wu Bei: "There are several families hanging XiShen and rushing to worship the heaven in the early morning. The winter is fat and the life is different, and it is still attacking Jijia Jianzichun. "According to records, the main customs of the winter solstice are festivals, sacrifices to gods, fat in winter and thin in years. It is also pointed out that the reason for the formation of "winter is as big as a year" is that "it is still attacking Ji's family to build a spring." "Jane Zi Chun" means that spring begins in the first month, that is, the first month of the year, that is, the first month of the year. Ji surname refers to Ji surname family. The emperor of the Zhou Dynasty was surnamed Ji, and Ji's surname here refers to the Zhou Dynasty. "Ji Jia Jia Zi Chun" means that the time series of the Zhou Dynasty is recorded in heavenly stems and earthly branches, the December of a year is represented by twelve earthly branches, and the second month is called "Jia Zi", that is, the winter month, that is, the November of the lunar calendar. According to the book "Closed Sutra", "The Yellow Emperor's strategy of getting a treasure tripod is to start all over again by being old and being strong, winning the winter solstice and winning the discipline of heaven." In other words, the winter solstice was regarded as New Year's Day (Shuodan) in the Yellow Emperor, which not only "inherited" the Zhou Dynasty ("auspicious home"), but also the custom of building the spring and summer solstice was originally a remnant of the Zhou Dynasty custom. However, with the growth of age and the change of calendar, the winter solstice was once an annual festival, but now it has been gradually forgotten. Even on the winter solstice, there is little festive atmosphere.