Introduction to the Winter Solstice Solar Term, What Does the Winter Solstice Represent?

Introduction to the Winter Solstice Solar Term, What Does the Winter Solstice Represent?
The Winter Solstice is a very important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar and also a traditional festival. Up to now, many places still have the custom of celebrating the Winter Solstice. Every day has good and bad, auspicious and inauspicious days. If you want to know more about the auspicious and inauspicious days in November of the lunar calendar 2018, please pay attention to the relevant articles about November of the lunar calendar 2018 compiled by Shuimoxiansheng.com!

Winter Solstice Introduction:

The Winter Solstice is a very important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar and also a traditional festival. Up to now, many places still have the custom of celebrating the Winter Solstice. The winter solstice is commonly known as the "Winter Festival", "Longest Day Festival", "Second Year", etc. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,500 years ago, my country had used a gnomon to observe the sun and determine the arrival of the winter solstice. It was the earliest of the 24 solar terms. The time is between December 22nd or 23rd of the Gregorian calendar every year.
The winter solstice is the day with the shortest daylight and longest night in the northern hemisphere throughout the year. After the winter solstice, the daylight will become longer day by day. The ancients said that the winter solstice is when the yin reaches its extreme, the yang begins to be born, the sun reaches its southernmost point, the day is at its shortest, and the shadow is at its longest, so it is called the "winter solstice." After the winter solstice, the climate in all regions enters the coldest stage, which is often called "entering the nines". There is a saying among the Chinese people that "it's cold in the nines and hot in the three fus".
In ancient my country, the Winter Solstice was taken very seriously and regarded as a major festival. There was a saying that "The Winter Solstice is as important as New Year's Day", and there was a custom of celebrating the Winter Solstice. The Book of Han said: "On the winter solstice, the yang energy rises and the emperor's reign is prolonged, so it is celebrated." People believed that after the winter solstice, the days would get longer and longer, and the yang energy would rise, marking the beginning of a solar term cycle and an auspicious day that should be celebrated. "Book of Jin" records that "On the winter solstice in the Wei and Jin dynasties, the emperor received congratulations from all countries and officials...the ceremony was second only to that of New Year's Day." This shows the importance of the winter solstice in ancient times.
Nowadays, some places still celebrate the Winter Solstice as a festival. In the northern regions, there is a custom of slaughtering sheep and eating dumplings and wontons on the Winter Solstice. In the southern regions, there is a custom of eating Winter Solstice rice balls and long noodles on this day. In various regions, there is a custom of offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors on the day of the winter solstice.

What does the Winter Solstice represent?

The winter solstice falls on December 22 or 23 of the Gregorian calendar every year, marking the official arrival of winter. The ancients said that the winter solstice is when the yin reaches its extreme, the yang begins to be born, the sun reaches its southernmost point, the day is at its shortest, and the shadow is at its longest, so it is called the "winter solstice." After the winter solstice, the climate in all regions enters the coldest stage, which is often called "entering the nines". There is a saying among the Chinese people that "it's coldest in the nineteenth day and hottest in the three fu days". The winter solstice is the day with the shortest day and longest night in the northern hemisphere throughout the year. Modern astronomical science has determined that on the winter solstice, the sun is directly above the Tropic of Capricorn, and the sunlight is most inclined towards the northern hemisphere. The day in the northern hemisphere is the shortest and the night is the longest. After the winter solstice, the sun gradually moves northward, and the daytime becomes longer day by day.

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