As soon as the winter solstice arrives, the days are long and the nights are short. This is what I often hear from my elders about the winter solstice. After all, people like it earlier and later. In addition to the changes in the time of the winter solstice, I was most impressed by the battle between Tangyuan and dumplings in the north and south of the winter solstice.
The arrival of the winter solstice also means that the taste of winter is more and more intense. After the winter solstice, the weather is even colder, so Chinese people have always attached great importance to the solar term of winter solstice. Different places will have different customs on this day, because - 'after a good winter solstice, you can have a good winter. '
If we have to say which place people attach the most importance to the winter solstice, I think Suzhou is the best place.
There is a saying in Suzhou: the winter solstice is as big as the year.
The winter solstice is usually on or around December 22 every year. The night before the winter solstice is called "winter solstice night". For Suzhou people, this night is equivalent to the Chinese New Year's eve of the Spring Festival every year. On this day, Suzhou people will gather together to eat the winter solstice night meal, which shows the importance.
I know that Suzhou people attach so much importance to the winter solstice, at first because of reading in Suzhou.
A few days before the arrival of the winter solstice every year, the school will give each student in the school two winter solstice vouchers, one lunch and one dinner. They will only be used in the school canteen on the day of the winter solstice and the winter solstice for free. Moreover, the dishes in the school canteen will be updated and the authentic dishes of the old and new Suzhou will make even if they are not local students in Suzhou feel the thick Festival Japanese atmosphere.
So, why do Suzhou people pay so much attention to the winter solstice?
After a little understanding, we know that as early as 2500 years ago, Suzhou people had the custom of having the winter solstice, or rather, the custom of having the new year in the Zhou calendar.
Suzhou people line up to buy winter wine before the winter solstice
Two thousand years ago, Taber, the son of King Wen of Zhou, came to Suzhou and founded the civilization of Wu. At the same time, Taber also brought many customs of Zhou Dynasty to Wu. One of them is in the Zhou calendar. The beginning of a year is on the day of the winter solstice, which is equivalent to the new year's Day (New Year's day), and the winter solstice night is equivalent to new year's Eve. Therefore, in Suzhou, too Gradually there is the saying that the winter solstice is as big as the year.
During the winter solstice, Suzhou people always like to buy some pickles
And in Suzhou, where the winter solstice is like a new year, how do you celebrate it?
In the tradition of Wu area, there are seven kinds of things: worship winter, eat winter solstice night meal, eat wonton, drink winter wine, eat "winter solstice group", eat sauce recipe and bu Qing. However, the custom of winter solstice has been simplified a lot since its continuation, but the habits of eating winter solstice night meal, drinking winter wine and eating group still remain today.
Go to Suzhou time-honored shop and line up to buy ingredients for winter solstice night
On the winter solstice night, Suzhou people will gather together to eat "reunion dinner", and they also need to change the name of the reunion dish on the table. The egg dumpling has become the "Yuan Bao", the meat ball is called "Reunion", and the fish eating is called "eating fish". In each dish name, there is a festive atmosphere.
On such an important day, how can there be less' wine 'that is particularly invigorating? The wine that Suzhou people drink on this day has a nice and elegant name: Winter wine.
As the name suggests, it can only be bought on the market in the first ten days or so of the winter solstice. On the night of the winter solstice, Suzhou people will put the winter wine on the table. Because the degree of the wine is very low, even children can make an exception and drink a few.
Winter wine is a kind of rice wine, which uses the first-class raw materials of glutinous rice. Even the water used for cooling is Taihu Lake water. After fermentation, glutinous rice is added to increase the sweetness. The last step is to add sweet and pleasant sweet sweet osmanthus flowers. Finally, the aroma of winter wine is pleasant. It looks golden and full when poured into the wine glass, with full color.
To this day, people in Suzhou prefer to line up to drink in person
In Suzhou, where pastry balls are everywhere, the winter solstice is a must. The winter solstice balls are called winter solstice balls. The winter solstice dough made of ground flour can be filled with minced meat, vegetable fruit, bean paste, shredded radish and other fillings according to one's own preference. It's full in size, and it's just the meaning of "round and round", which makes people happy to eat.
In addition to the traditional winter solstice custom, now on the day of the winter solstice, Suzhou people will also eat mutton. The status of book collection mutton in the hearts of Suzhou people is not low, and it is a good thing to nourish and resist the cold. Therefore, from the beginning of the winter solstice, Suzhou people eat mutton more and more frequently. After all, the winter solstice shows that the winter has reached the extreme. It is time to strengthen the body to resist the next long time The cold winter.
So, how are you going to spend your winter solstice?