The winter solstice is one of the 24 solar terms, which is very important. At this time, it has entered the deep winter. It is snowing all over the sky. People will celebrate and pray every solar term. What do you eat on the day of the winter solstice? What are the differences in the food of winter solstice? Let's have a look!
Do you eat dumplings or dumplings at the winter solstice
For the traditional customs of the winter solstice, many people may know that dumplings are eaten in many places on this day, but in fact, dumplings are eaten in some places. Generally speaking, there are more places to eat dumplings in the north on the winter solstice, while there are more places to eat dumplings in the south.
As a special solar term, the winter solstice still plays a prominent role in the twenty-four solar terms. So far, the custom of eating dumplings or dumplings at the winter solstice has been retained in many places. There is a proverb in the north that "the winter solstice is not proper, and no one cares if the ears are frozen off", while there is a corresponding one in the south that is called "making dumplings by pounding rice at home, I know it is the winter solstice day of the Ming Dynasty", So what to eat on the winter solstice can be determined according to your preferences.
However, generally speaking, eating dumplings on the winter solstice is a custom with high recognition and price ratio, because dumplings are not only a traditional food as a solar term, but also a moral in memory of Zhang Zhongjing. It is said that eating dumplings at the winter solstice is related to Zhang Zhongjing, a famous medical scientist in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that when Zhang Zhongjing returned home in his old age, it was snowy winter. On the streets, many people displaced by the war have no food and clothes, and many people's ears have been frozen. Seeing this, Zhang Zhongjing couldn't bear it, so he made people set up a medical shed in the east of Nanyang pass. Ask disciples to make stuffing with mutton, pepper and some cold expelling herbs, and then make dumplings. Give alms to the people. This dumpling cured many villagers' frozen ears. Since then, every time the winter solstice enters the ninth, everyone competes for dumplings. There is a proverb 'dumplings on the winter solstice don't freeze their ears'.
What traditional food do you eat during the winter solstice
There are different traditional customs in different places on the winter solstice. Of course, there are different traditional foods. Let's learn about it with Xiaobian:
Eat dumplings in the North
Eating dumplings on the winter solstice should be the most well-known custom. Now this tradition is more popular in the north. It is said that when Zhang Zhongjing, the medical saint, returned to his hometown, he saw the frozen people, so he asked his disciples to set up a medical shed, cook them in a pot with mutton, pepper and some cold dispelling herbs, take them out and chop them, make them look like ears with noodles and leather bags, and make them into a kind of medicine called "cold dispelling and ear correcting soup" for charity to the people. Later, during the winter solstice, people imitated eating and formed a custom.
The South eats dumplings
For many places in the south, there is a custom of eating dumplings instead of dumplings on the winter solstice. There is a saying among the people that "eating dumplings is one year older". Eating dumplings on the winter solstice is a traditional custom in China, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. Tangyuan is also called "tangtuan". Eating tangtuan on the winter solstice is also called "winter solstice group." The winter solstice group can be used to offer sacrifices to ancestors or to give gifts to relatives and friends.
Tengzhou eat mutton soup
Mutton is very suitable for nourishing food in winter, so we have the habit of eating mutton in Tengzhou. It is said that the custom of eating mutton in the winter solstice began in the Han Dynasty. It is said that Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, ate the mutton cooked by fan Kuai on the winter solstice. He thought it was delicious and full of praise. Since then, the custom of eating mutton on on the winter solstice has been formed among the people. People eat mutton and various nourishing foods on the winter solstice in order to have a good omen for the coming year.
Suzhou rice wine
The traditional Suzhou family will drink winter wine on the winter solstice night. Winter wine is a kind of rice wine, brewed with osmanthus, with pleasant aroma. When people in Suzhou drink wine in winter, they will also be accompanied by all kinds of pickled vegetables such as stewed beef and mutton. In the cold winter, winter wine can not only dispel the cold, but also repose a kind of beautiful wish of Suzhou people for life.
Minnan eat ginger duck
Ginger duck has a very good effect of expelling cold and nourishing, so it is also very suitable for winter consumption. In Southern Fujian, local people will enjoy ginger duck during the winter solstice. Ginger duck is made of red muscovy duck, fried with sesame oil, stewed with ginger (ginger mother) and rice wine. It has the effects of soothing the liver and lungs, nourishing the stomach and spleen, relaxing tendons and activating blood circulation, dispelling cold and resolving phlegm, and is especially nourishing.
Taiwan eats glutinous cakes
Many people may not understand the winter solstice customs in Taiwan. It is reported that Taiwan maintains the tradition of sacrificing ancestors with nine layer cakes during the winter solstice. After the ceremony, there will be a big banquet to entertain the relatives who come to worship their ancestors. We had a good time drinking, contacting each other and feeling strange after a long time.