Why do you eat Yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival? What are the legends and stories?

Eating glutinous rice balls in Lantern Festival not only means celebrating family reunion, but also has the health-preserving effects of keeping out the cold, nourishing the spleen and stomach and benefiting the lung qi.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, there was a maid-in-waiting named Yuanxiao in the palace. She lived in the palace for many years, missed her parents and spent all her days in Lacrimosa. Determined to help her, Dong Fangshuo lied to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that Vulcan was ordered by the Jade Emperor to burn Chang 'an on the fifteenth day of the first month. The only way to escape the disaster was to let "Yuanxiao Girl" make a lot of Vulcan jiaozi on the fifteenth day of the first month, and all subjects were decorated with lanterns.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty let the Yuanxiao girl finally meet her family. Since then, the Lantern Festival has been formed, and the custom of eating glutinous rice balls in the Lantern Festival has spread at this time.

Eating zongzi on the Lantern Festival warms the spleen and stomach, and people's breath will become quite smooth, so that the whole body will be hot and play a role in keeping out the cold, especially those with spleen and stomach deficiency. In addition, glutinous rice also contains protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, nicotinic acid and other rich nutrients, so it can be said that glutinous rice dumplings are warm and strong food.

The material of jiaozi for Lantern Festival is mainly glutinous rice. "Compendium of Materia Medica" points out that glutinous rice is a valley for nourishing the spleen and stomach, benefiting the lungs and benefiting qi. Glutinous rice is sweet and warm, which can nourish human blood and spleen and stomach after eating. The coldest winter is March 9, although it has passed now, the weather is warm and cold, and stomach gas is most likely to be lost in cold days.

The ancients packed zongzi on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Besides sticky rice, zongzi is easy to cook and won't come loose, but also because glutinous rice has the characteristics of keeping out the cold.

Glutinous rice dumplings are round in appearance and filled or solid inside. They are called Yuanxiao in the north and Tangyuan in the south. Jiaozi can have many tricks on Lantern Festival. Especially the varieties with stuffing are the most.