Today is the winter solstice.
It is the third from the bottom of China’s “Twenty-Four Solar Terms”. On this day, the sun hits the Tropic of Capricorn. It is the day with the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. When the winter solstice is over, the daytime will get longer and longer, and the night will get shorter and shorter.
In China, the winter solstice is generally regarded as a festival for families to reunite and celebrate. Family members not only enjoy wine and delicacies to celebrate, but also visit relatives and friends to celebrate, give gifts and pay homage to ancestors.
On the winter solstice day, we eat dumplings or wontons in northern China. In some places, you still drink alcohol. It is said that drinking is to warm your body, while eating dumplings is for fear of freezing your ears. In some places in the south, there is a custom of eating gnocchi, rice noodles and other sweets on the winter solstice.
Winter Solstice Abroad:
Koreans have the custom of eating red bean porridge during the winter solstice. On the one hand, it is to drive away evil spirits, and on the other hand, it is to add nutrition. In addition to eating red bean porridge like Koreans, the Japanese also have the habit of taking a bath on the winter solstice.
Pomegranate is eaten on Yalta night. In addition, in many Central Asian and Siberian languages, “Winter Solstice” (and Christmas) is also called “Nardoqan or Nardugan Day”.
Post time: Dec-21-2021
