In the folk, there is a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as the new year" or "the winter solstice is as big as the new year". In ancient my country, the Winter Solstice has always been regarded as the most important festival after the Spring Festival, and many customs have been followed to this day. There are many legends and stories about the Winter Solstice, including healing and rescuing people, driving away disasters and avoiding epidemics, and worshiping ancestors. In any case, they all reflect the ancients' reverence for nature and yearning for a better life.

1. The story of dumplings

Zhang Zhongjing was from Gendong, Nanyang. He wrote "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases", which is a collection of medical achievements and is regarded as a classic by doctors of all ages. Zhang Zhongjing has a famous saying: "If you advance, you will save the world; if you retreat, you will save the people; if you cannot be a good prime minister, you should also be a good doctor."

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, he served as the prefect of Changsha, visiting patients and administering medicine, and practicing medicine in the lobby. Later, he resolutely resigned and returned to his hometown to treat his neighbors. When he returned home this year, it was winter. He saw that the folks on both sides of the Baihe River were emaciated and hungry, and many of them had their ears rotten by the cold. He asked his disciples to set up a medical tent and a large pot in Dongguan, Nanyang, and use "Quhan Jiaoer Decoction" to treat chilblains on the winter solstice.

What is "Quhan Jiao Er Soup"? Just put mutton, chili pepper and some anti-cold medicinal herbs in a pot and boil, then take out the mutton and medicinal herbs and chop them into pieces. Then use bread to make "Jiao Er" shaped like ears. After cooking, give two "Jiao Er" and a large bowl of broth to each person who comes to seek medicine. After people ate "Jiao Er" and drank "Qu Han Tang", their whole bodies became warm, their ears felt warm, and their frostbitten ears were naturally cured.

Later generations imitated the "Jiao Er" look and wrapped it into food, also called "dumplings" or "flat food". Eating dumplings during the winter solstice is to remember the kindness of "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing's "Quhan Jiao Er Soup". To this day, there is still a folk song in Nanyang, "If you don't bring dumpling bowls during the winter solstice, your ears will freeze off and no one will care". Eat a bowl of hot dumplings on the day of the winter solstice to wish you good health and a smooth winter and usher in the new year.

2. The story of wontons

In addition to eating dumplings on the winter solstice in the north, another popular custom is eating wontons. "Yanjing Chronicles" records: "Winter Solstice Wonton and Summer Solstice Noodles." Eating wontons during the Winter Solstice is popular in the north, which is related to the story of Xi Shi.

It is said that when Wu and Yue fought for hegemony, the King of Wu defeated the King of Yue and not only obtained a large amount of gold and silver treasures, but also the ingenious Xi Shi. Once, I tasted the food made by Xi Shi, which was wrapped in dough and stuffed. I was very impressed and asked Xi Shi what it was. Xi Shi thought that this foolish king was obsessed with beauty and ignored the government, so he took the word "chaos", which is homophonic, and said This thing is wonton. Since then, wontons have become popular among the people. In order to commemorate Xi Shi's wisdom and creativity, King Wu stipulated that wontons should be eaten during the winter solstice to commemorate Xi Shi's wisdom and creativity.

There is another saying that it originated from the Western Han Dynasty. It is said that eating wontons is the ancient people's pursuit of a peaceful and stable life and to drive away evil people.

According to legend, during the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns from the north often harassed the frontiers and the people had no peace. At that time, there were two leaders in the Xiongnu tribe, the Hun clan and the Tun clan, who were very ferocious. The people hated it so much that they used meat fillings to wrap it into wontons and called them "wontons" after taking the sounds of "hun" and "tun". Eat them out of hatred, and hope to quell the war and live a peaceful life. Since wontons were first made on the winter solstice, it has become a custom for every household to eat wontons on the winter solstice.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, the custom of eating wontons to worship ancestors during the Winter Solstice became very popular. People also believe that eating wontons is a sign of respect and sacrifice to the Yellow Emperor or those who have done epoch-making things.

3. The story of glutinous rice

Compared to the north, southerners choose to eat glutinous rice dumplings or red bean glutinous rice on the Winter Solstice.

In most people’s minds, eating glutinous rice balls during the winter solstice in the South is related to the original name of glutinous rice balls, “winter solstice group”, and glutinous rice balls have the meaning of reunion, which indicates the meaning of reunion after the winter solstice and during the Spring Festival. Nowadays, people often use the second explanation, which means reunion.

Not many people know about the custom of eating red beans and glutinous rice during the Winter Solstice. In fact, the cultural inheritance of red bean and glutinous rice is said to be related to plague ghosts.

According to legend, there was a man named Mr. Gong. He had an underachieving son who committed many evil deeds and died on the winter solstice. After his death, he turned into a plague ghost and continued to harm the people. But this epidemic ghost is most afraid of red beans, so people cook and eat red bean rice on the winter solstice to ward off the epidemic ghost and cure diseases and prevent disasters.

Later, people used glutinous rice to wrap various vegetables and meat as fillings on the Winter Solstice, both as offerings to ancestors and as gifts to relatives and friends.

4. The story of dog meat

As the saying goes: "In the cold winter solstice, dog meat is fat" and "If dog meat rolls three times, the gods will not be able to stand still." In the cold winter, after eating a delicious meal of dog meat, you will immediately feel warm and full of strength. Traditional Chinese medicine generally believes that dog meat has the effects of warming and tonifying the spleen and stomach, tonifying the kidneys, yang, strengthening the body, and nourishing the blood vessels; eating dog meat can strengthen the human body, improve digestion, and promote blood circulation; eating it often in winter can also enhance the cold resistance of the elderly. ability.

In fact, there is a historical story about the custom of eating dog meat on the winter solstice, which also originated from the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang and Fan Kuai were both from Peixian County. When Fan Kuai sold dog meat to support his family, Liu Bang often went to Fan Kuai's house to drink and eat dog meat. After a long time, Fan Kuai's wife had some objections and muttered: "Liu Bang often comes here to eat dog meat and drink alcohol without paying for it. Aren't you losing money if you keep doing this?" Fan Kuai didn't care at first, but he couldn't stand his wife's nagging, so he had to I thought of a way to hide in Hedong and sell it.

When Liu Bang saw it, he thought that Fan Kuai was still soft-hearted, so he ran to Hedong and said to Fan Kuai: "Brother, if I don't come to eat, can you still sell your dog meat?" Fan Kuai nodded, From early to now, indeed not a single piece of dog meat has been sold. Liu Bang smiled and asked Fan Kuai to cut the meat and eat it. The aroma was immediately fragrant and made everyone around him salivate. People in the market swarmed to buy it all.

Fan Kuai was shocked, Liu Bang was a true god! From then on, the custom of eating dog meat during the winter solstice gradually formed among the people. Nowadays, people combine health knowledge and eat not only dog ??meat, but also mutton and other nourishing foods in order to have a good body in the coming year.

Among the various legends and stories about the Winter Solstice, it can be concluded that the ancients were influenced by the concepts of nature and ancestor worship, but at the same time they also reflected the ancients' pursuit of a better life. The good cultural genes that have existed for thousands of years through the ages should be passed down by us.