Is the winter solstice a lunar festival?

Winter solstice is an important solar term in the China lunar calendar, and it is also a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. The winter solstice is usually called "Winter Festival", "Dragon solstice Festival" and "Asian New Year".

Introduction:

As early as more than 2,500 years ago in the Spring and Autumn Period, China had observed the sun with the earth, and determined the winter solstice, which was the earliest of the 24 solar terms, and the time was between 0 and 23 in Gregorian calendar 65438+February 265438.

On the winter solstice, the direct position of the sun on the ground reaches the southernmost point of the year and almost directly reaches the Tropic of Capricorn (23 26' south latitude). On this day, the northern hemisphere gets the least sunshine, 50% less than the southern hemisphere. The days in the northern hemisphere are the shortest, and the farther north they are, the shorter they are. For example, at the southernmost tip of China-Zengmu shoal (2 33' north latitude), the daytime time is 1 1 hour 59 minutes, Haikou time is about1hour 55 minutes, Hangzhou time is about1hour 12 minutes and Beijing time is about 9 hours and 25 minutes. After the winter solstice, the stars in the night sky are completely replaced by the winter stars. From today, they will enter the ninth. At this time, the southern hemisphere is in a hot summer.

More generally, there is a custom of eating jiaozi from winter solstice in northern China. As the saying goes, "When winter solstice comes, eat jiaozi." In the south, we eat jiaozi, but there are exceptions. For example, in Tengzhou, Wenshang, Qufu and Zoucheng, Shandong Province, the custom of counting nine from the winter solstice is popular, and the custom of drinking mutton soup on the same day means driving away the cold. Dietary customs vary from place to place, but eating jiaozi is the most common.

Origin:

Winter solstice is the earliest of the 24 solar terms, but most people don't know that the origin of winter solstice actually comes from the planning of a national capital. As early as more than 3,000 years ago, Duke Zhou began to measure the shadow with the method of soil rules and measure the position of the world in Luoyi, which was a move of political significance at that time, but it became one of the festivals that affected future generations for thousands of years.

When the Duke of Zhou arrived in Luoyang, he measured that Luoyang was "in the world" by the method of returning to the soil, and then began to divine the country and the land. It is recorded in Shangshu Luogu that the Duke of Zhou "Panluo City" made some investigations in several places around Luoyang, and finally determined that Jianshui East, Zhuoshui West and Zhuoshui East are "Weiluo City" (all good places to build ancestral halls). The historical fact that the Duke of Zhou chose the base site of Luoyi through the "investigation of returning to the land" was recorded in ancient books and was regarded as the law of sealing the country by later generations.

The purpose of "Topography of Tugui" is to find out "in the soil" (the center of China). The essence of this method is that "the tree is eight feet high and the summer solstice is five inches long;" On the solstice of winter, the scene is one foot, three feet and five inches long (that is, an eight-foot high benchmark is erected). On the summer solstice, the shadow at noon is 65,438+0.5 feet, and on the winter solstice, the shadow at noon is 65,438+03.5 feet). "The depth of the soil is measured, the shadow is positive, and the land is searched. It stops at four o'clock." What is measured by this method is the theoretical position of Luoyang and Luoyi in the soil.

According to the investigation of Duke Zhou, Zhou people made a detailed plan for the first national capital after the demise of Shang Dynasty. "Yizhou Zuoluo Book" said: "It is a great city, growing in the soil for a week, ... in Luoshui in the south and Mangshan in the north, and the world is in harmony." . After the national society (capital and ancestral temple) was completed, Duke Zhou formulated the national etiquette system in detail in the Rite and Music System, Famous Hall of Chengzhou. According to records, the first month of the Zhou Dynasty is winter and November, and the winter solstice is the beginning of the New Year. In other words, Duke Zhou chose the longest day in the "sun shadow" measured by the Tugui method as the New Year.

From meditation to Qin dynasty, winter is always the same as the beginning of the year. This is still the case in the Han Dynasty. There is a saying in Hanshu: "The sun shines on the winter solstice, so congratulations ..." In other words, people originally celebrated the winter solstice to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.

The ancients believed that since the winter solstice, the yang of heaven and earth began to flourish and become stronger, representing the beginning of the next cycle, which is a good day. Therefore, later, during the Spring Festival, customs such as ancestor worship and family dinners often appeared on the winter solstice. The winter solstice is also called "off-year". First, it shows that the year is approaching and there are not many days left. The second is to show the importance of the winter solstice. As a festival, the winter solstice originated in the Zhou Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been passed down to this day. The first month of the week calendar is November of the summer calendar. Therefore, the first month of the Zhou Dynasty is equal to today's November, so there is no difference between New Year greetings and He Dong. It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the summer calendar that the first month was separated from the solstice in winter. Therefore, it can also be said that the "Winter Solstice Festival" began in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has existed ever since.