What are the food customs of the Winter Solstice? A grand review of traditional delicacies
The Winter Solstice is the most important of the 24 solar terms, and also a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. As for food customs, the most common one is that in northern China there is the custom of eating dumplings on the Winter Solstice, as the saying goes, "When the Winter Solstice arrives, eat water dumplings." In the south, people eat tangyuan (glutinous rice balls); of course, there are exceptions, such as in Tengzhou, Shandong and other places, where the Winter Solstice is customarily called Shujiu, and the custom of drinking mutton soup on the day Shujiu begins is popular, implying the meaning of driving away the cold.
Water dumplings
Every year on the day of the lunar Winter Solstice, regardless of wealth or poverty, dumplings are an indispensable festival meal. As the proverb goes, "On the first day of the tenth month, the Winter Solstice arrives, every household eats water dumplings." This custom was left to commemorate the "Medical Sage" Zhang Zhongjing giving away medicine on the Winter Solstice. Eating dumplings on the Winter Solstice is to not forget the grace of the "Medical Sage" Zhang Zhongjing's "Cold-Dispelling Jiao'er Soup." To this day, Nanyang still has the folk rhyme "If you don't hold the dumpling bowl on the Winter Solstice, your ears will freeze off and no one will care."
Mutton soup ⟧7⟧The custom of eating mutton on the Winter Solstice is said to have begun in the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han, ate mutton cooked by Fan Kuai on the day of the Winter Solstice and found the taste especially delicious, praising it endlessly. From then on, the custom of eating mutton on the Winter Solstice took shape among the people. People have rushed to eat mutton and various nourishing foods on the day of the Winter Solstice, in hopes of a good omen for the coming year. Nowadays in the Tengzhou area of Shandong, this day is called Fujiu; before the festival, gifts such as mutton are given to elders, and every household drinks mutton soup on Fujiu, seeking a good omen for the individual, the elders and the family.
The custom of eating mutton on the Winter Solstice is said to have begun in the Han Dynasty. Legend has it that on the Winter Solstice, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han, ate mutton cooked by Fan Kuai and found it exceptionally delicious, praising it endlessly. From then on, the custom of eating mutton on the Winter Solstice took shape among the common people. People rushed to eat mutton and various nourishing foods on the Winter Solstice in hopes of a good omen for the coming year. In the Tengzhou area of Shandong today, this day is called Fujiu, and before the festival people give gifts such as mutton to their elders; on Fujiu every household drinks mutton soup, seeking a good omen for themselves, their elders and their families.
Jiangnan rice
In the Jiangnan water towns, there is the custom of the whole family gathering together on the night of the Winter Solstice to eat red bean glutinous rice. According to legend, Gonggong had an unworthy son who committed many evil deeds and died on the day of the Winter Solstice; after death he became a plague ghost and continued to harm the common people. However, this plague ghost feared red beans most, so people cooked and ate red bean rice on the day of the Winter Solstice to drive away the plague ghost and prevent disasters and illness.
Sweet potato soup fruit
In Ningbo's traditional customs, sweet potato soup fruit is one of the must-eat delicacies on the Winter Solstice. "Fan" (sweet potato) and "fan" (to flip) are homophones, and in the understanding of Ningbo people, eating sweet potato on the Winter Solstice means "flipping" away all the bad luck of the past year. Soup fruit is similar to tangtuan, but much smaller and without filling. Soup fruit is also called yuanzi, taking the meaning of "reunion" and "completeness." Old Ningbo people also have the saying "Eat soup fruit and you are one year older."
Taiwan, China glutinous rice cake
In Taiwan, China there still remains the tradition of using nine-layer cake to worship ancestors on the Winter Solstice. Glutinous rice flour is kneaded into animals such as chickens, ducks, turtles, pigs, cows and sheep that symbolize good fortune, favor and longevity, then steamed in layers in a steamer basket to worship ancestors, showing that the ancestors are not forgotten. People of the same surname and clan, on the Winter Solstice or an earlier agreed date, gather in the ancestral hall and worship the ancestors one by one in order of seniority, commonly known as "ancestor worship." After the ceremony, a grand banquet is held to entertain the clan relatives who came to worship. Everyone drinks heartily and renews bonds that have grown distant from long separation, and this is called "eating with the ancestors." The Winter Solstice Festival and ancestors have been passed down from generation to generation in Taiwan, China, to show that people do not forget their "roots." Radish, green vegetables, tofu, wood ear mushrooms, etc.
Taizhou Lei Yuan
People in Taizhou, Zhejiang love good food. The Winter Solstice is an important solar term of the year, and on this day some special dishes and foods are made. First, ancestors are honored and prayers are offered for the ancestors to bless the whole family with peace and fulfillment in the coming year. Then the whole family happily gathers together to drink and eat. Among these, eating "Winter Solstice yuan" (Lei Yuan, also called hard Lei Yuan, fan cao yuan) is an old tradition in Taizhou; Lei Yuan takes the meaning of round, smooth and reunion.
Suzhou brewed wine
The Gusu area attaches great importance to the Winter Solstice solar term, and there is a saying in the Gusu area: "The Winter Solstice is like the great New Year." Traditional Gusu families drink winter-brewed wine on the night of the Winter Solstice. Winter-brewed wine is a kind of rice wine brewed with osmanthus, with a pleasant fragrance. While drinking winter-brewed wine heartily on the night of the Winter Solstice, the people of Gusu also pair it with various braised dishes such as braised beef and braised mutton. In the cold winter, winter-brewed wine not only drives away the cold, but also carries the beautiful wishes of the people of Gusu for life.
Jiangxi maci
Maci is a specialty of Zhejiang and Jiangxi, and also a traditional snack of Fujian people and an offering used by Fujian people in sacrifices. After the maci is dried in the shade, it is suitable for steaming, pan-frying, roasting over fire or stir-frying with sand.
Winter Solstice noodles
"After eating Winter Solstice noodles, the day grows by one thread." In Hefei, Anhui, the custom of eating noodles on the Winter Solstice is related to the solar term, climate and farming. After the Winter Solstice comes the cold days of Shujiu, with each nine days counted as one jiu. In the severe winter when dripping water freezes, only after eating a bowl of steaming hot egg noodles can one consider the Winter Solstice properly observed.
Tangyuan
A Han Chinese folk saying in the Chaoshan area goes: "The Winter Festival is as big as the New Year," and "If you don't return for the Winter Festival, you have no ancestors." This means that those who are away must hurry home on the day of the Winter Solstice to worship their ancestors no matter what; otherwise they are considered to lack a sense of ancestral home. Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait value the Winter Solstice greatly and treat it as a festival of reunion. After eating Winter Festival yuan, the people of Chaoshan also stick two Winter Festival yuan on prominent places in the home such as doors, windows, tables, cupboards, ladders and beds; even the bow of a fishing family's boat, the horns of a farming family's ox, and the fruit trees planted by fruit growers are no exception.
Longan boiled eggs
In ancient times the Winter Solstice was a major festival. Jiaxing attaches great importance to the Winter Solstice, with the proverb "The Winter Solstice is as big as the New Year," preserving ancient customs. According to the Jiaxing Prefecture Gazetteer: "On the Winter Solstice, ancestors are worshipped, and officials and gentry congratulate one another, as in the New Year's ceremony." Among the people, tonic consumption at the Winter Solstice is advocated, including red bean glutinous rice, ginseng soup, white wood ear, walnut kernels stewed with wine, and longan boiled eggs. To this day, Jiaxing still carries on the custom of eating "longan boiled eggs" on the Winter Solstice. The elderly say that because the night of the Winter Solstice is the longest of the year, if you do not eat it you will be cold all night and still hungry in the middle of the night.
Pumpkin pancakes
Once the Winter Solstice has passed, the New Year is in sight. People in Hefei eat pumpkin pancakes on the Winter Solstice, and the aroma of pumpkin pancakes fills the streets and alleys. There is also a proverb that goes, "After eating Winter Solstice noodles, the day grows by one thread," meaning that after the Winter Solstice, the nights become shorter and the days longer.