The sunshine counts nine winter solstice days, and the frost and wind are high.
It was another balance day, with the sub-line returning from south to north.
Today is the "winter solstice" in the twenty-four solar terms, the winter solstice, also known as the sun south solstice, the winter festival, and the sub-year.
The winter solstice is not only a very important festival in China's lunar calendar, but also a traditional festival, its festival customs have been passed down for nearly 3,000 years, and the rich festival connotation has endured for a long time. Litchi News specially invited Yu Xiangshun, professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Nanjing Normal University, to introduce the core connotation of the winter solstice festival, count the different styles of festival cuisine in Jiangsu, and explore the profound meaning >> behind the food customs
"Count nine cold days", autumn harvest and winter hiding
Professor Yu Xiangshun said that among the twenty-four solar terms, two of them have the identity of "festivals", the first half of the year is Qingming, and the second half of the year is the winter solstice. On the day of the winter solstice, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer, making it the shortest day and the longest night in all parts of the Northern Hemisphere. After this day, the day time "bottomed out" and gradually became longer.
After the winter solstice, it officially enters the harsh winter, which is what the ancient Chinese called the "number nine" cold day of 9981 days. The Daoguang Emperor of the Qing Dynasty invented a kind of "Nine-Nine Cold Removal Map", which has nine words on it: "Weeping willows in front of the pavilion cherish the spring wind"; each word (traditional) is nine paintings, write a painting every day, write these nine words, winter will pass, spring will come. Therefore, the winter solstice is a very important "turning point".
In the traditional agricultural society, "autumn harvest and winter hiding", winter is the time of agricultural leisure, and it is necessary to start preparing for the New Year. Therefore, in the folk sense, the winter solstice can be said to be a "rehearsal" of the New Year, and the folk even have the saying that "the winter solstice is as big as the year".
"Nine in the winter" eat dumplings "burn bun number nine eat tofu"
Count the beautiful meanings of winter solstice food from all over Jiangsu
"Ten miles of different winds, a hundred miles of different customs." Every time there is a solar term, the most interesting thing is "what to eat in this festival", and the winter solstice is no exception. Jiangsu has also had the tradition of "the winter solstice is like a year" since ancient times, and each region has its own food customs. Such as winter wine in Suzhou, dumplings in Suqian, chicken soup in old Nanjing, etc., there are many kinds. Behind these food customs is also an allusion to people's yearning for a better life.
Tangyuan
"The big winter is like a year, and everyone eats tangyuan." Eating tangyuan is popular in Jiangnan, tangyuan is also called tangyuan, is a kind of round dessert made of glutinous rice flour, "round" means "reunion" and "consummation", so the winter solstice to eat tangyuan is also called "winter solstice dumplings". Jiangnan is the main rice producing area, Jiangsu Yangzhou, Nantong, Wuxi, Zhenjiang and other places have the winter solstice to eat tangyuan food customs.
Winter winemaking
There is a saying in Suzhou since ancient times, "If you don't drink winter wine on the winter solstice, you must freeze overnight." Every winter solstice, on the dinner table of every household in Suzhou, there will be mellow and delicious winter wine. Suzhou people and the winter solstice, there is always a bowl of winter wine that cannot be discarded. Winter winemaking is a low-grade rice wine with osmanthus flowers and some Chinese medicinal herbs. Gangnam is a rice-producing area, and it is popular to brew rice wine. Suzhou is rich in osmanthus flowers.
"Tofu stew with green vegetables"
"Burnt bun number nine eat tofu", as the standard of the Nanjing winter solstice, "burnt bun" is to worship the ancestors, "number nine" is to welcome the new, green vegetables, tofu is the most common vegetables in ordinary families before, and there is a "clear and white" "green vegetables and tofu to keep safe" meaning. "Drink chicken soup on the winter solstice and make up for it for a year." In addition to tofu, chicken soup is also the "standard" on the winter solstice table of Nanjing people.
Shallot tuk tofu
On the night of the winter solstice of Changzhou people, be sure to come to a bowl of "shallot tuk tofu"! Eating "shallot tuk tofu" seems to be a custom unique to Changzhou. "Du" is the Changzhou dialect, which means "boiled". Why do Changzhou people eat shallot tofu overnight on the winter solstice? There is a folk proverb that "rich" and "rotten" are harmonious, and the folk proverb of "if you want to be rich, the winter solstice overnight shallots and tofu" caters to the people's desire to live a prosperous life.
Braised pork
Since ancient times, Taizhou has had the saying of too big winter and too small winter. The "winter solstice" is also called "wintering"; the day of the "winter solstice" is called the great winter, and the day before it is called the small winter. According to different customs, each family sacrifices ancestors on the day of the big winter or the small winter. There is also braised pork in the winter solstice family banquet in Taizhou, which means that there are fish and meat in the coming year, and there is a feast; braised silver carp, which means "even (silver) year has more than (fish)".
pumpkin
There is a saying in Suqian: "Bite the winter solstice dumplings, and good luck from now on." "The family gets together, making dumplings, eating dumplings, steaming hot, and happy. In addition, in Suqian and Yancheng, there is a folk saying that eating pumpkins in winter will be transferred, believing that it will bring good luck to the second year.
Homecoming reunion is the spiritual core of the winter solstice
Ancient festivals relied on agricultural societies, the times changed, many customs are difficult to "reproduce"; but their spiritual significance can be "creatively transformed" and inherited. Chinese attach importance to family reunion, and the most important spiritual "core" of the winter solstice festival is reunion. In ancient poetry, there are quite a few works of winter solstice sijia, such as Bai Juyi has a poem "Handan Winter Solstice Night Sijia": "If you want to sit at home late at night, you should also talk about distant pedestrians." On the day of the winter solstice, Bai Juyi was alone in Handan, missing his hometown; he imagined that the family at this time should sit in groups in the middle of the night, and they were also thinking about and talking about wanderers in distant places, right? On the day of the winter solstice, we don't necessarily have to sit with our families, but can we make a phone call, send a message, and video chat? In fact, on the day of the winter solstice, whether it is eating tangyuan or drinking "winter wine", the biggest significance of the festival should be to remind us to love our families and love our families, and life also needs some "sense of ceremony".
From: Lychee News
Source: Litchi Micro News