Dongzhi Solar term – Winter Solstice

The first day of this season is the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year. Since ancient times, this day has been celebrated in many countries and in China as the "Winter Solstice Festival". This holiday is important because this day marks the beginning of a new cycle. From this time, the yin forces begin to weaken, giving way to the yang forces, which is expressed in a gradual increase in the length of the day and, therefore, the approach of spring.

Dongzhi solar term 冬至 is the twenty-second of the 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar. It continues the second month of winter and the fourth of the winter seasons, annually it begins on December 21-22 and corresponds to the second half of the month of the Rat. Dongzhi ends on January 5-6, it is replaced by the​​​​​​​ Xiaohan solar term, the "Lesser Cold".

CLIMATE

In ancient China, on the first day of the beginning of the twenty-second solar term of the Chinese agricultural calendar, people congratulated each other on the arrival of real winter. It is on the day of the winter solstice that the yin forces reach their maximum, after which yang energies begin to increase in nature. Despite the cold, daylight hours increase, a new cycle begins.

ТРАДИЦИИ

Ever since the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), the winter solstice day was declared a general holiday and a non-working day for employees, in Chinese it is called the "Winter Solstice Festival", Dongzhi (冬至) or Dongzhi jie (冬至节).

In ancient books you can read that during the Dongzhi festival, the emperor and his ministers listened to music for five days. Families also played musical instruments on these days.

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On Dongzhi Day, many Chinese remember their deceased ancestors and pay their respects to them by performing rituals and making sacrificial offerings, such as so-called "jinzhi" (Chinese: 金纸) or ritual money.

It was considered very important during the holidays to avoid unnecessary fuss and to be in a state of joy and peace. People prepared festive treats and exchanged gifts.

In the south of the country, it is customary to eat tangyuan (Chinese: 汤圆) - rice flour balls with a sweet filling - on the winter solstice festival. In northern China, dumplings - jiaozi (Chinese: 饺子) are traditionally prepared on this day. There is even a saying: "The winter solstice has come - every house eats dumplings." These dumplings are called "winter solstice dumplings" (Chinese: 冬至饺子).

Both rich and poor tried to treat themselves to dumplings on this day - there was a belief that whoever ate dumplings on the day of the winter solstice would not freeze all winter.

HEALTH

The Dongzhi solar term is a great time to improve your health. It is necessary to rationally combine the work and rest regime, taking into account the state of the body and the rhythm of life. It is important to get a good night's sleep.

 

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It is advisable to avoid long-term overloads, during this period it is important to be moderate in physical and emotional stress and in nutrition. It is better to avoid unnecessary fuss and troubles.

With the beginning of the Dongzhi solar term, China will enter the coldest time of the year. It is necessary to keep warm to avoid catching a cold.

DIET

Traditionally, hot dishes made from lamb are eaten at this time - soups, stewed lamb with radish and ginger, scalded, baked, etc. And dumplings are always cooked, there are a great many recipes and methods, but most often these are jiaozi dumplings (Chinese: 饺子) and wonton dumplings in soup (Chinese: 馄饨). It is believed that dumplings help to keep warm on the coldest days.