What are the origins and customs of the winter solstice?

The winter solstice is a very important solar term in the China lunar calendar. As early as 2500 years ago, during the Spring and Autumn Period, China used soil gauges to observe the sun to determine the winter solstice. Do you know the origin and customs of the winter solstice? Let's look at the origin and customs of the winter solstice. Welcome to check!

The origin of winter solstice

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 earth gauge method and measure the position of the world in Luoyi. This 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. "History? According to Luogu, Duke Zhou inspected several places around Luoyang, and finally determined that Jianshui East, Hubei Water West and Hubei Water East are all "only Luoliang" (all good places to build a temple state). 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.

Zhou people made a detailed plan for Yizhoushu, the first national capital after the demise of Shang Dynasty, according to the world determined by Duke Zhou? Zuo Luozai: "As a big city, it is surrounded by soil ... it is in Luoshui in the south and Mangshan in the north, thinking that the world is big." . 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 sun be the spirit of heaven and earth began to flourish, representing the beginning of the next cycle, which was a lucky 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.

The custom of winter solstice

Wonton and noodles

There used to be a saying in old Beijing that "winter solstice wonton, summer solstice noodles". According to legend, during the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu in the north often harassed the frontier, and the people were restless. At that time, there were two leaders, Xiongnu tribe and Tun tribe, which were very cruel. The people hated it, so they wrapped it into a corner with meat stuffing and called it "wonton" with the sound of "muddy" and "swallowing".

Eat dog meat

It is said that the custom of eating dog meat on the solstice began in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty, ate dog meat cooked by Fan Kuai on the solstice in winter, which was particularly delicious and full of praise. Since then, the custom of eating dog meat from winter solstice has been formed among the people. Nowadays, people eat dog meat and mutton on the winter solstice in order to have a good omen for the coming year.

Eat dumplings

Every year, during the winter solstice of the Lunar New Year, jiaozi is an indispensable holiday feast for both the rich and the poor. As the saying goes: "On October 1st, when the solstice of winter comes, every family eats jiaozi."

Red bean glutinous rice

In Jiangnan water town, there is a custom that the whole family get together to eat red beans and glutinous rice in the evening from winter to Sunday. According to legend, * * * Gong was a troubled wit who died in the winter. Become a plague ghost after death and continue to harm the people. However, this epidemic ghost is most afraid of red beans, so people cook red bean rice from winter solstice to drive away the epidemic ghost and prevent diseases.

How to keep healthy during the winter solstice?

Winter solstice is the most important solar term in health preservation, mainly because "winter solstice is born by the sun". According to the gossip theory, this time it is a complicated divination of mines. In the hexagrams, the top five are Yin and the bottom one is Yang, which symbolizes the birth of Yang. In ancient China, the winter solstice was designated as the second month, that is, the beginning of a year. Twelve o'clock a day, the child is also the time when the human body is born.

Ancient health care attached great importance to the birth of Yang. People think that when Yang is born, it should be carefully protected and nursed back to health, just like farmers' seedling raising and women's pregnancy, so as to make it grow sturdily. Because only when the yang in the human body is sufficient will the purpose of getting rid of diseases and prolonging life be achieved. Therefore, Zi Shi and Zi Yue play an important role in health preservation.

There are three versions of winter tonic: one is after beginning of winter and before beginning of spring; The second time is around the winter solstice; Three is three or nine days. Experts believe that the choice of winter tonic time varies from person to person. People with chronic diseases and yang deficiency need long-term tonic, starting from beginning of winter to beginning of spring; People who generally don't need a big tonic can concentrate on tonic in three to five days. Just as the folks have long said that "summer makes up for three volts, and winter makes up for three or nine". The solstice in winter is the beginning of counting nine, so people think it is best to put on makeup around the solstice in winter.

Why do you eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter?

Every year, during the winter solstice of the Lunar New Year, jiaozi is an indispensable holiday feast for both the rich and the poor. As the saying goes: "On October 1st, when the solstice of winter comes, every family eats jiaozi." This custom was left in memory of Zhang Zhongjing, a "medical sage", who gave up medicine from the winter solstice.

Zhang Zhongjing is from Gedong, Nanyang. Treatise on Febrile Diseases, written by him, is a masterpiece of doctors and is regarded as a classic by doctors in past dynasties. Zhang Zhongjing has a famous saying: "if you advance, you will survive;" If you retreat, you will save the people; " You can't be a good doctor and you can't be a good doctor. "When the Eastern Han Dynasty was the magistrate of Changsha, he visited the sick and took medicine and practiced medicine in the lobby.

Later, he resolutely resigned and went back to his hometown to treat his neighbors. When he got home, it was already winter. He saw that the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River were sallow and emaciated, hungry and cold, and many people's ears were frozen. He asked his disciples to build a medical shed and a cauldron in Dongguan, Nanyang, and to give up "Quhan Joule Decoction" to treat chilblain on the day of winter solstice. He boiled mutton, pepper and some herbs for dispelling cold in a pot, then took out mutton and medicine and chopped them up, making ear-shaped dumplings with bread. After cooking, he distributed two horns and a big bowl of broth to everyone who came to ask for medicine. People ate "Joule" and drank "Quhan Decoction", and they were all hot, their ears were hot, and their frostbitten ears were cured.

Later generations learned the appearance of Joule and packaged it into food, also called "jiaozi" or "flat food". When you eat jiaozi on the solstice in winter, you will never forget the kindness of Zhang Zhongjing, a "medical sage", in "Quhan Joule Decoction". Up to now, there is still a folk song in Nanyang, which is called "jiaozi Bowl, and nobody cares about frozen ears." .

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