Winter Solstic Festival
Things Chinese Do in Winter Solstice Festival – Chinese Folklore
In some parts of north China, people have dumpling soup on this day; while residents of some other places eat dumpling, saying doing so will keep them from frost in the upcoming winter.
But in south China, it is commonplace for the whole family to get together to have a meal made of red beans and glutinous rice. They believe, by doing this, they can drive away ghosts and other evil things.
In other places, people also eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour. The Winter Solstice rice dumplings may be used as sacrifices to ancestors, or gifts for friends and relatives.
The Taiwanese even keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. They make cakes in the shape of chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow or sheep with glutinous rice flour and steam them on different layer of a port.
These animals all signify auspiciousness in Chinese tradition. People of the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in age order.
After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet at which they share the nine-layer cakes. This is called “eating food from ancestors”, which constitutes a means to tighten the bond within the family clan.
Origin of Winter Solstics Festival – Chinese Folklore
As early as 2,500 years ago, about the Spring and Autumn Period, China had determined the point of Winter Solstice by observing movements of the sun with a sundial. It is the earliest of the 24 seasonal division points. The time will be each December 22 or 23 according to the Gregorian calendar.
The northern hemisphere on this day experiences the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. After the Winter Solstice, days will become longer and longer. As ancient Chinese thought, the young, or muscular, positive things will become stronger and stronger after this day, so it should be celebrated.
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