Winter solstice has a very important position in ancient times, and there is also a saying that "winter solstice is as big as a year" It was even once a festival, and eating jiaozi on this day is very common in the northern region.
In Beijing and Tianjin, people have the custom of eating jiaozi in early winter. Some folklore experts believe that beginning of winter is the turn of autumn and winter, and it is the time to have children. Therefore, eating jiaozi at this time is "obeying God's will". Besides, China used to be an agricultural society. People who worked for one year should take advantage of beginning of winter to have a rest and reward their families for their hard work in the past year.
After beginning of winter, the weather is not very cold, and the real severe winter will wait until the solstice winter. When the economic conditions are underdeveloped, the cold from winter solstice will make many people frostbite their ears, and jiaozi is shaped like ears, so it is customary to eat jiaozi's ears without freezing on winter solstice.
Although the customs vary from place to place, the meaning of winter tonic is basically the same, which is to warm the body, drive away the cold, enhance resistance and reduce diseases.