Legend of the time, position, how to spend the winter solstice and its origin

time: from December 21st to 23rd of the Gregorian calendar every year.

status: it is an important solar term in the China lunar calendar and a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. The winter solstice is commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Long Festival" and "Asian New Year".

How to do it:

Worship ancestors: Chaoshan folk, on this day, they prepare three kinds of animals and fruits, such as pork, chicken and fish, go to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors, and then the family members gather around the table for a meal, usually before noon, and the family members get together for lunch. However, in coastal areas, such as the seamounts in Raoping, ancestors are sacrificed in the early morning, before fishermen go out to sea to fish, which means asking gods and ancestors to bless fishermen's fishing safety.

Eating sweet pills: This custom is almost universal in the Chaoshan area, but it also contains an interesting vulgar custom: after people worship their ancestors on this day, they take out some sweet pills and stick them on their doortops, roof beams, rice jars and other places. Why do you want to do this? According to legend, there are two reasons: first, sweet pills are sweet and round, which means good meaning. It indicates another bumper harvest next year and family reunion. It's a good omen if the family can accidentally meet it on this day, just like the "Water-splashing Festival" of ethnic minorities. If an outsider happens to visit on this day and let an outsider meet it, these outsiders will also have good luck. Therefore, people don't want outsiders to visit on this day. One is for mice. According to legend, the seeds of grain were bitten by mice from far away places to be planted by farmers. In order to repay the contribution of mice, farmers agreed that a small part should be left uncut when harvesting every year so that mice could eat them. Later, because a greedy man harvested all the grains in the field, the mouse complained to Goddess Guanyin in anger. After listening to this, Goddess Guanyin felt sorry for her, so she gave her a pair of hard teeth and told her to move into other people's houses in the future to find food. Since then, the mouse has done harm everywhere. Become one of the "four evils" today. However, this vulgar custom of "sticking sweet pills everywhere" won't last long after all. It is not only unsanitary, but also unsightly and wasteful, and naturally dies out. And this custom of "eating sweet nine" has been passed down to this day.

going to the grave: this is another activity on the winter solstice. According to Chaoshan custom? It is called "Spring Paper" and "Winter Paper" to go to the grave every year during the Qingming Festival and the Winter Solstice. Generally speaking, the custom of "passing the spring paper" should be carried out in the first three years after death, and the "winter paper" can only be carried out after three years. However, most people like to carry "winter paper" because it often rains during the Qingming period and the road is difficult to walk; During the winter solstice, the weather is good, which is convenient for picnicking in the mountains.

Legend:

According to records, in the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, winter and November were the first month, and the winter solstice was the beginning of the New Year. There is a saying in Hanshu: "The sun is shining in the winter solstice, and the monarch is long, so congratulations ..." In other words, people began to celebrate the winter solstice festival 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 and the day of good luck. Therefore, the custom of ancestor worship and family dinner during the Spring Festival is often chosen in 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.

celebrating the winter solstice as a festival originated in the Han dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties, and has been in existence ever since. The first month of the Zhou calendar is November in the summer calendar, so the first month of the Zhou Dynasty is equal to November in the Gregorian calendar today, so there is no difference between worshipping the New Year and celebrating the New Year. It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the summer calendar that the first month was separated from the winter solstice. It can also be said that the simple "Winter Solstice Festival" has only existed since the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and has been in existence ever since.

the winter solstice is the "winter festival" in the Han dynasty, and the official government will hold a congratulatory ceremony called "He Dong", which is a routine holiday for officials, and the custom of "worshipping winter" is popular in officialdom. There is such a record in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty: "Before and after the Winter Solstice, a gentleman lived in peace, refused to listen to politics, chose auspicious days and then saved trouble." Therefore, on this day, the imperial court will have a holiday and rest, the army will be on standby, the frontier fortress will be closed, business trips will be closed, relatives and friends will give each other food, visit each other, and have a "quiet" festival happily. During the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, the winter solstice was called "sub-year-old", and people should pay homage to their parents and elders. After the Song Dynasty, the winter solstice gradually became a festival to worship ancestors and gods.

In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the winter solstice was a day to worship the heavens and ancestors. On this day, the emperor would hold a ceremony to worship the heavens in the suburbs, and the people would worship their parents on this day. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperor had a ceremony to worship heaven, which was called "the winter solstice suburban sky". In the palace, there is a ceremony for hundreds of officials to present congratulations to the emperor, and they also have to stab each other to congratulate each other, just like New Year's Day.