The winter solstice in 2018 is December 22, less than ten days from this year's winter solstice. As we all know, the winter solstice is the coldest day of the year. After the winter solstice, we can count the days and look forward to the arrival of spring. The winter solstice is an important solar term in China's 24 solar terms. It is also a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. On this day, we have many traditional customs, but what is generally known to the public may be eating dumplings. There has always been a saying among the people that they don't eat dumplings and freeze their ears at the winter solstice. But do you know what the winter solstice means in China since ancient times? What does the three seasons of the winter solstice mean? The small editor of this article will tell you these traditional knowledge points.
What does the solar term winter solstice mean
The winter solstice is the 22nd of the 24 solar terms in a year. It starts on December 22 or 23 every year when the sun reaches 270 degrees of the Yellow meridian. It is one of the most important solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar, commonly known as "winter festival", "long Solstice Festival", "Asian year old", etc. As early as the spring and Autumn period more than 2500 years ago, China had measured the winter solstice by observing the sun with Tu GUI, which was the earliest of the 24 solar terms. "Tongwei? Deed of filial piety and economic assistance to God": "on the 15th day after the heavy snow, douzhizi is the winter solstice, in the middle of November. The cathode and the sun begin to arrive, the sun ends in the south, and gradually grows to the end."
According to the collection and interpretation of the seventy-two seasons of the lunar calendar, "on November 15, the gas stored at the end is extremely here." the ancients said about the winter solstice: when the cathode reaches, the Yang gas begins to grow, the sun reaches south, the sun is short, and the sun shadow grows, so it is called the winter solstice. According to the measurement of modern astronomical science, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of cancer on the winter solstice, the sun tilts the most towards the northern hemisphere, the day is the shortest and the night is the longest in the northern hemisphere. After the winter solstice, the sun slowly shifts to the Tropic of cancer, the days in the northern hemisphere slowly lengthen, and the nights gradually shorten. Therefore, in ancient times, there was the saying that "the winter solstice produces a Yang", which means that from the winter solstice, the Yang Qi slowly rises again.
After the winter solstice, the climate everywhere enters the coldest stage, which is often called "entering nine". Since the winter solstice, "count nine", every nine days is a section, which is divided into ninety-nine and eighty-one days. There is a popular ballad: "no action in 1929, walk on the ice in 3949, look at the willows along the river in 5969, the river opens in 799, Yan comes in 899, and cattle walk everywhere." this ballad vividly reflects the seasonal changes at different times and the wisdom of the working people in China. Sanjiu is the coldest day with the least heat storage in the ground area, so there is also the saying "it's cold in Sanjiu". In China's Yangtze River Basin, there is a charming landscape of wintersweet competing for beauty despite the cold weather.
What does winter solstice mean
In ancient China, the winter solstice was divided into three periods: "first, earthworm knot; second, elk horn solution; third, water spring movement."
It is said that earthworms are creatures that bend Yin and stretch Yang. At this time, although Yang Qi has grown, Yin Qi is still very strong, and earthworms in the soil still curl up;
Elk and deer belong to the same family, but their yin and yang are different. The ancients thought that Elk's horn was backward, so it was Yin. When the winter solstice was born with Yang, elk felt that the Yin Qi gradually retreated and solved its horn;
The spring in the mountain can flow and warm at this time because Yang Qi is born.
According to China's traditional calendar, five days is a season, three seasons and fifteen days are a festival or qi, and a year is divided into twelve festivals and twelve Qi, which are collectively called 24 solar terms. Because the winter solstice is not fixed on a specific day, it is called "living Festival" like Qingming. In ancient China, great importance was attached to the winter solstice. The winter solstice was regarded as a major festival. There was a saying that the winter solstice was as big as a year, and there was a custom to celebrate the winter solstice. It is said in the book of Han Dynasty that "in the winter solstice, the Yang Qi rises, and you have a long way to celebrate." people believe that after the winter solstice, the days are longer and longer, and the Yang Qi rises again, which is not only the beginning of the solar term cycle, but also an auspicious day, which should be celebrated. It is recorded in the book of Jin that "the winter solstice in the Wei and Jin Dynasties was congratulated by all countries and bureaucrats & hellip; & hellip; its appearance is inferior to that of the new year's Day", indicating the importance attached to the winter solstice in ancient times.