The winter solstice solar term has been a popular saying among the people that the winter solstice is not proper. No one cares if the ears are frozen off. It can be seen how important it is for northerners to eat dumplings at the winter solstice. In the northern winter solstice, there are many different fillings to choose from. Dumplings with different fillings also have different effects on health care. People in many parts of the South will eat glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice day. 'Yuan' means' reunion ', which symbolizes family happiness and family reunion. It is made of glutinous rice flour. After the glutinous rice balls are made, they will worship gods and ancestors first. So besides eating dumplings and dumplings, what else will you eat during the winter solstice all over the country? This article is a small edition of the inventory of the winter solstice eating customs for everyone. Let's have a look.
Eat dumplings in the North
"The winter solstice is not a proper dumpling bowl. No one cares if your ears are frozen off." In northern China, there is a custom of eating dumplings during the winter solstice. On this day every year, no matter rich or poor, dumplings are an essential holiday meal.
It is said that dumplings existed as early as the Three Kingdoms, but the dumplings at that meeting were similar to the current wonton. After cooking, they were mixed with soup in a bowl, so people called dumplings' wonton 'at that time. It was not until the Tang Dynasty that dumplings became the same as they are now.
The origin of eating dumplings at the winter solstice dates back to the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Jiaozi, formerly known as' jiao'er ', was first invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a medical saint in China. His story of "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" has been spread among the people to this day.
It is said that eating dumplings at the winter solstice originated from Zhang Zhongjing, the medical saint of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that in winter, Zhang Zhongjing saw that people had damaged their ears due to cold, so he wrapped the anti cold medicine into an object in the shape of ears with dough, named 'jiao'er', which was cooked on the day of the winter solstice, so that people could eat soup to protect their ears.
Today, people have inherited the custom of making dumplings. Every winter solstice, people imitate Zhang Zhongjing to cook "jiao'er" and make hot soup. Over time, jiao'er has become popular. It has been passed on for a long time, and has local names such as "dumplings", "flat food", "water dumplings" and "water snacks". The custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice has been handed down from generation to generation.
The South eats dumplings
There is an ancient poem: "every family makes dumplings by pounding rice. It is known that it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Eating Tangyuan on the winter solstice is a traditional custom in China, which is particularly popular in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a saying among the people that eating Tangyuan is one year older. Glutinous rice balls can be used to offer sacrifices to ancestors, give gifts to relatives and friends, and also represent the meaning of reunion.
Eating glutinous rice balls was a custom in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the winter solstice, we should 'make flour balls' or' take glutinous rice as pills'. These are also officially recorded in historical materials, which are called 'winter solstice, powdered glutinous rice balls, named & lsquo; Tangyuan & rsquo. After making dumplings, we should worship gods and ancestors, and then eat dumplings around the family, which is called "Tim Sui". Therefore, eating glutinous rice balls at the winter solstice is ancient.
Eating glutinous rice balls, the ancients have a poem: "every family pounding rice to make glutinous rice balls, we know it is the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Eating Tangyuan on the winter solstice is a traditional custom in China, which is particularly popular in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a saying among the people that eating Tangyuan is one year older. Tangyuan is also called tangtuan. Eating tangtuan on the winter solstice is also called 'winter solstice Group'; Glutinous rice balls can be used to offer sacrifices to ancestors or to give gifts to relatives and friends.
Another explanation is that the winter solstice is the longest night of the year. On the day of the winter solstice, before dawn, women get up and make a fire to cook dumplings. They first worship heaven and ancestors, and then the whole family sit around and eat dumplings. Therefore, eating Tangyuan on the winter solstice not only means that the sun (sunshine) comes back gradually, but also means reunion. Modern people prefer to take it as a symbol of perfection.
Summary of eating customs in winter solstice
1. Shandong Tengzhou mutton soup
It is said that the custom of eating mutton at 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 very delicious and praised it. Since then, the custom of eating mutton 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. Now in Tengzhou, Shandong Province, this day is called count nine. Before the festival, gifts such as mutton will be sent to the elders. Count nine families have to drink mutton soup, which bodes well for individuals, elders and families.
Tengzhou mutton soup mainly puts sheep bones into a big pot to make soup, and then puts the fresh mutton cut into mounds and the cleaned mutton into the soup pot to cook. After cooking, pick it up and drain it, then cut it into thin slices, put it in boiling water, pour it into the soup bowl, rush into the hot and snow-white sheep soup, sprinkle green scallions, and make a bowl of steaming and fragrant mutton soup. With a mixture of chili oil, pepper noodles, salt and monosodium glutamate, it becomes mutton soup.
2. Jiangnan rice
In the water town of Jiangnan, there is a custom that the whole family get together to eat red bean glutinous rice on the night of winter solstice.
It is said that Gonggong had talented people who committed many evils and died on the day of the winter solstice. After his death, he became a plague ghost and continued to harm the people. However, the epidemic ghost is most afraid of red beans. Therefore, people cook red bean rice on the winter solstice to drive away epidemic ghosts and prevent disasters and diseases.
3. Ningbo sweet potato soup fruit
In the traditional customs of Ningbo, sweet potato soup and fruit are one of the necessary delicacies for the winter solstice.
'fan' and 'fan' are homonymous. In the understanding of Ningbo people, eating sweet potatoes on the winter solstice is to 'turn' all the bad luck of the past year.
Tangguo is similar to tangtuan, but it is much smaller and there is no stuffing in it. Tangguo is also called Yuanzi, which means "Reunion" and "perfection". Old Ningbo also has the saying that he is one year older after eating Tangguo.
Ningbo people are used to adding wine when making sweet potato soup and fruit. In Ningbo Dialect, wine is also called "pulp board", and "pulp" is the same as "rise" in Ningbo Dialect, taking the good color of "rising wealth" and "rising happiness".
4. Taiwan glutinous cake
In Taiwan, China, the tradition of offering sacrifices to ancestors with nine layers of cakes on the winter solstice is also preserved. Glutinous rice flour is kneaded into chickens, ducks, turtles, pigs, cattle, sheep and other animals symbolizing auspiciousness, happiness, wealth and longevity, and then steamed in layers in steamers to offer sacrifices to ancestors, so as to show that we will not forget our ancestors. Those with the same surname and ancestry gather in the ancestral temple at the winter solstice or at an early date agreed before and after the winter solstice to worship their ancestors one by one according to the order of elders and children, commonly known as "ancestor worship". After the ceremony, there will be a big banquet to entertain the relatives who come to worship their ancestors. We drink freely, contact each other, and have a strange feeling for a long time, which is called "eating ancestors." The ancestors of the winter solstice festival have been handed down from generation to generation in Taiwan to show that they do not forget their "roots". Radish, green vegetables, tofu, fungus, etc.
5. Zhejiang Taizhou leiyuan
Taizhou People in Zhejiang are good at delicious food. The winter solstice is an important solar term of the year. To make some special dishes and food on this day, we must first pay tribute to our ancestors and pray for their ancestors to bless the whole family in the coming year. Then the whole family happily got together to drink and eat. Among them, eating 'winter solstice round' (beating round, also known as hard beating round and rough round) is an old tradition in Taizhou. Beating round means round, moist and reunion.
Lei Yuan is the highlight of the winter solstice. The word "Yuan" means "Reunion" and "consummation". Compared with Tangyuan eaten on weekdays, the winter solstice circle of Linhai people is not only rich in content, different in forms, but also meaningful. Lei Yuan is made of glutinous rice flour. First, the glutinous rice flour and warm water are kneaded into a dough, and then picked into a round ball the size of a vinegar dish. After cooking, it is rolled and mixed in soybean flour. Because this process is called "Lei" in Linhai dialect, the winter Solstice round is called "Lei Yuan", while soybean flour is ground into powder after fried with soybeans, and then mixed with brown sugar. It tastes sweet and rich. It is accompanied by the delicate waxy soft of glutinous rice balls, It's appetizing. Take a bite of a doughnut filled with bean flour. It is fragrant, sweet, warm and soft. A taste of happiness arises spontaneously. In addition to the classic sweet dumplings, many families like salty winter solstice dumplings. Salty dumplings are stuffed with glutinous rice dumplings, which are similar to pork, dried tofu, winter bamboo shoots, mushrooms, carrots and white radishes. They can be steamed and boiled, delicious and juicy, and have another taste.
6. Jiangsu Suzhou Wine Making Co., Ltd
Suzhou attaches great importance to the solar term of the winter solstice. There is a saying in Suzhou: 'the winter solstice is like a big year'. The traditional Suzhou family will drink winter wine on the night of the winter solstice. Winter wine is a kind of rice wine. It is brewed with osmanthus and has a pleasant aroma. While people in Suzhou enjoy winter wine on the winter solstice night, 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.
7. Jiangxi MACI
MACI, a specialty of Zhejiang and Jiangxi, is also a traditional snack of Fujian people and an offering for sacrifice. After drying in the shade, it is suitable for steaming, frying, fire roasting and sand frying.
MACI is also a famous snack in Southern Fujian, among which Nanan Yingdu is the most famous. Its raw materials are superior glutinous rice, lard, sesame, peanut kernel, rock sugar, etc. MACI is sweet and delicious. It is resistant to hunger after eating. It has a sweet and smooth taste, soft, tough and slightly ice. The finished product is bright white, smooth, tough and transparent.
8. Eat winter solstice noodles in Hefei, Anhui Province
'after eating winter solstice noodles, one day is a long line'. In Hefei, Anhui Province, the custom of eating noodles during the winter solstice is related to solar terms, climate and farming. After the winter solstice, there are nine cold days, and 19 are made every nine days. In the freezing winter, eating a bowl of hot egg noodles can be regarded as a winter solstice.
9. Tangyuan in Chaoshan and southern Fujian
The folk proverb of Han nationality in Chaoshan area says: 'Winter Festival is as big as years' and' Winter Festival has no ancestors'. It means that people who go out must go home to worship their ancestors on the winter solstice, otherwise they have no ancestral concept. Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait attach great importance to the winter solstice and regard it as a reunion festival.
After eating the winter festival round, people in Chaoshan have to stick two winter festival round in conspicuous places such as doors, windows, tables, cabinets, ladders and beds of their homes, even the bow of fishermen, the horn of farmers' cattle, and the fruit trees planted by fruit farmers.
Lin Zaifu, a famous modern Taiwanese scholar, described Taiwan's winter festival in his book Minnan people (the winter solstice is called the winter festival in Minnan) on the day of "every family should sacrifice their ancestors with the winter solstice round in the morning & hellip; & hellip; from the gate, small door, window door, warehouse door, bed, cabinet, table, well, toilet, cowshed and pig house, they can have one or two grains of the winter solstice round on it, so as to protect the safety of the family".
10. Four style dumplings
First, boil or steam mung beans, red beans, sugar white gourd and taro respectively, peel them, add white sugar, sesame, cooked lard and other condiments respectively to make four kinds of sweet fillings, wrap the dumpling skin into four different fillings and mark them. Cook the four kinds of dumplings in sugared water. One dumpling for each bowl with different fillings.
11. Braised egg with longan in Jiaxing, Zhejiang
The winter solstice is a big festival in ancient times. Jiaxing attaches importance to the winter solstice. As the saying goes, 'the winter solstice is as big as a year', retaining the ancient style. According to the records of Jiaxing Fu Zhi (Volume 34 & middot; customs): 'worship the first in the winter solstice and celebrate with the crown, such as the new year's Day ceremony'. Folk advocate tonic during the winter solstice, including red bean glutinous rice and ginseng soup; White fungus, walnut stew, longan boiled egg, etc.
So far, Jiaxing still inherits the custom of eating 'Longan fried eggs' at the winter solstice. The elderly say that because the winter solstice night is the longest in a year, if they don't eat, they will freeze all night and get hungry in the middle of the night.