Why do Taicang people eat New Year's Eve dinner and flower cakes?

Du Fu's poem Xiaozhi said: "Meteorology and personnel, every day urges, winter goes to the day and spring comes again." According to legend, Zhou's eldest son and second son ran to the State of Wu and established the State of Wu. They followed the calendar of the Zhou Dynasty and took the winter solstice as the beginning of the New Year. Later, although the weekly calendar was changed, it left a unique legacy of "winter solstice is as big as a year" in Jiangnan. Similarly, for the ancient Taicang people, the winter solstice is not only an important solar term, but also an ancient and important folk festival, and it is also the sustenance for our ancestors to respect the laws of nature and pray for future happiness.

Flowers cake

Different from Suzhou people's custom of giving "winter solstice plates", Taicang people will steam flower cakes before giving gifts to relatives and friends on the winter solstice. Ming Jiajing's "Taicang County Records" records: "In the early stage of the winter solstice, Wako sugar powder is a flower cake, which is eaten by relatives and friends." Flower cakes are also an essential food for winter solstice banquets.

Eat New Year's Eve dinner on the solstice in winter.

Eating winter solstice dinner is the most important activity. Xuan Tong's "Taicang County Records" in Qing Dynasty said: "The day before the winter from November to Sunday is the winter night of the solstice." The Winter Solstice Festival is the same as the New Year Festival. The night before winter, solstice is the day of family reunion. "Xin Tang Zhen Zhi" said: "In the winter solstice festival, invite friends and relatives to have a winter solstice dinner".

Chi fen dong JIU

From winter to day and night, the dishes are as rich as possible, and there are also many local "winter wines". Ming Chongzhen's "Taicang State Records" notes: "On the winter solstice, relatives and friends will have a feast, which is called winter wine." Winter wine, also known as winter brewing, tastes sweet and green or white, and Taicang is called old white wine. After beginning of winter, many people will brew this wine by themselves. Xuan Tong's "Taicang County Records" in Qing Dynasty recorded: "Liquor has the name of October White, cauliflower yellow and blue edge." These wines are also brewed in winter. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a poem in Wang Shizhen praising Bai Qing wine: "The wine mother complained in the middle of the night, and the jade liquid is already comparable. The yellow chicken and purple crab are still fat and will keep out the cold with you. " He wrote in the preface: "The white wine brewed on the wall comes from my hometown and is made of herbs. It was made one month before and after the wall was placed, and the taste was extremely fresh and sweet. "

Eat wonton

"Winter solstice wonton, summer solstice noodles", the custom of eating wonton in winter has a long history. The intention of eating wonton from winter to sun is explained in Yanjing Notes: "Wonton is shaped like a chicken egg, which is quite like the chaos of heaven and earth, so it is eaten from winter to sun." The ancients thought that everything in the world was chaotic like an egg; The solstice in winter is long, short and chaotic. The ancients wrapped the meat stuffing with dough, representing the victory of the earth and the sky over the dark sky and chaos. After the worship, the ancients successfully shared this "chaos".

offer sacrifices to ancestors

Wang Yue Town's record: "Winter solstice festival, in the old society, this is to pay homage to ancestors." Cake is also one of the sacrifices. In the "four-person moon order" of the Han Dynasty, millet cakes should be used as offerings to gods and ancestors during the winter solstice. Perhaps influenced by the custom of ancestor worship, Taicang also has the custom of mourning for the "New Winter Solstice Day". "The Records of Shuangfeng Town" records: "The newly bereaved family will celebrate the new winter solstice and invite relatives and friends to dinner to show their memory of their old friends."