The winter solstice in 2018 is on December 22. The ancients believed that since the winter solstice, the Yang of heaven and earth has become stronger and stronger, representing the beginning of the next cycle, which is the day of great auspice. Therefore, the later customs of ancestor worship and family dinner during the Spring Festival often appear in the winter solstice. So is there a legend about the winter solstice in China?
One of the legends of the winter solstice
In the past, there was a saying in old Beijing that "winter solstice wonton and summer solstice noodles". It is said that in the Han Dynasty, the northern Xiongnu often harassed the border areas and the people were not peaceful. At that time, Hun clan and Tun clan were two leaders of Xiongnu tribe, which were very ferocious. The common people hated it so much that they wrapped it with meat stuffing, took the sound of "Hun" and "Tun" and called it "wonton". Hate to eat, and seek to put down the war, to live a peaceful life. Because wonton was first made on the day of the winter solstice, families eat wonton on the day of the winter solstice.
It is a common name for people in Henan Province to eat dumplings during the winter solstice. It is said that Zhang Zhongjing, the medical saint of Nanyang, once served as an official in Changsha. When he went back home, it was snowy winter and the cold wind was biting. He saw that the villagers' clothes on both sides of Baiye River in Nanyang were not covered, and many people's ears were frozen and rotted. He was very sad. So he asked his disciples to set up a medical shed in Guandong, Nanyang. He cooked them in a pot with mutton, pepper and some herbs to dispel the cold. He fished them out and chopped them up. He made them look like ears with a flour bag. Then he put them down and cooked them to make a medicine called "soup to dispel the cold and correct the ears" to give to the people Eat. After eating, the villagers' ears were cured. Later, every winter solstice people imitated to eat, so the custom of "pinching and freezing ears" was formed. Later, people called it "dumpling", and some called it "flat food" and "hot dumpling". People also said that people would not freeze the dumplings after eating the winter solstice.
Winter solstice Legend II
It is said that the custom of eating dog meat in the winter solstice began in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, ate the dog meat cooked by fan Kuai on the winter solstice. He thought it tasted delicious and praised it. Since then, the custom of eating dog meat has been formed in the folk. Now people are eating dog meat, mutton and all kinds of nourishing food on the day of winter solstice in order to have a good omen for the next year.
Winter solstice legend 3
In the south of the Yangtze River, there is a custom that the whole family gather together to eat red bean and glutinous rice on the night of the winter solstice. According to legend, there was a man named Gonggong. His son was incompetent and had many evils. He died on the day of the winter solstice. After his death, he became a plague ghost and continued to harm the people. However, this epidemic ghost is most afraid of red beans, so people cook red bean rice on the day of the winter solstice to drive away the epidemic ghost and prevent disasters and diseases.