As an important solar term, the Winter Solstice has a history of more than 2,500 years.
The Winter Solstice celebrated as a festival originated in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and still be unique so far. The Winter Solstice is not fixed on a specific day but generally falls on December 21 or December 22 in the Gregorian calendar.
Chinese astronomy regards the Winter Solstice as the beginning of winter, which is obviously late for most parts of our country. During the Winter Solstice, the average temperature in the northwest plateau is generally below 0°C, and in the south it is only around 6°C to 8°C. However, in the southwest low-altitude valley region, even in early January, the coldest time in the area, the average temperature is still above 10°C.
On the day of the Winter Solstice, for people in the northern hemisphere, the sun just shines directly on the Tropic of Capricornus (also known as the winter solstice), so the day is the shortest and the night is the longest in the northern hemisphere. After the Winter Solstice, the sun slowly shifted to the Tropic of Cancer again, and approached spring. The days in the northern hemisphere gradually lengthened, while the nights gradually shortened. The ancient people also predict whether the weather in the future would be good or bad from the weather conditions on the Winter Solstice.
More commonly, in northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during the Winter Solstice, while in the south it is customary to eat glutinous rice balls, named Tangyuan in Chinese language.
Of course, there are exceptions. For example, the custom of drinking mutton soup on the day of the Winter Solstice is popular in some parts of Shandong province, implying to drive away the coldness.
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