What do people in Henan eat on the solstice in winter?
On the solstice of winter, people in Henan usually choose to eat jiaozi to celebrate this important solar term. There are many kinds of fillings in jiaozi, such as pork stuffing, mutton stuffing, leek stuffing and egg stuffing, which are delicious. In the process of jiaozi's package, family members will get together and package jiaozi while chatting. The atmosphere is very warm. In addition to eating jiaozi at home, in some places in Henan, people will choose to taste various flavors of jiaozi in restaurants or food stalls.
Many restaurants and food stalls will offer various flavors of jiaozi from winter solstice to attract customers to taste it. Therefore, in some cities in Henan, the winter solstice has also become a food festival, allowing people to taste all kinds of delicious jiaozi. The custom of eating jiaozi from winter solstice is not only a traditional eating habit, but also a cultural heritage and emotional expression. By eating jiaozi, people can feel the warmth and beauty of family ties and enhance their feelings.
In modern society, with the change of people's lifestyle and the development of urbanization, some traditional customs and habits gradually fade away. However, in Henan, the custom of eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter still survives and is handed down. This not only reflects the love and respect of Henan people for traditional culture, but also shows their enthusiasm and pursuit of life.
The origin of winter solstice:
The winter solstice is a very important solar term in the lunar calendar and one of the traditional festivals in China. The time is February 22nd or 23rd of Gregorian calendar 10 every year. As for the origin of the winter solstice, it began in the Zhou Dynasty. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Zhou wanted to find the center of the whole country in order to build ancestral temples and carry out sacrificial activities. He sent an expert to take an eight-foot soil gauge and stick it in the ground to measure the center of the country according to the length of the shadow.
After measurement by these experts, they found that in Luoyang area, the longest shadow of the sun is 13 feet 5 inches, and the shortest is 5 inches, so Luoyang has become the center of the country. They also set the day with the longest shadow as the winter solstice and the day with the shortest shadow as the summer solstice, so the winter solstice is the first solar term decided by people.
From the Zhou Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty, the winter solstice has always been regarded as the beginning of a year, and people celebrate the winter solstice to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was no longer the first month, but the ancients still attached great importance to it, so the winter solstice was also called "off-year". This is the origin of the winter solstice, which is a solar term set by Zhou people.