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Eight things you should know about Winter Solstice Festival
涨姿势!关于冬至你必须了解的8件事
On the first day of Winter Solstice, the Northern Hemisphere experiences the shortest day and the longest night in the year, as the sun shines directly at the Tropic of Capricorn. From then on, the days become longer and the nights become shorter. The Winter Solstice also marks the arrival of the coldest season in the year。
冬至意味着北半球这一天白天最短，夜晚最长，而从这天之后，白天将逐渐变长，夜晚渐短。除此之外，冬至到来也标志着一年中最寒冷的时候要来到了。
Here are eight things you should know about Winter Solstice。
小编带你盘点关于冬至你不得不知道的八件事。
1.The Winter Solstice Festival
冬至冬至
There was a saying that went in ancient China, "The Winter Solstice is as significant as the Spring Festival."
古语认为：“冬节大如年。”
As early as Zhou Dynasty (c.11thcentury-256BC)， people worshipped the gods on the first day of the Winter Solstice, which was also the first day of the new year. The Winter Solstice became a winter festival during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220AD). The celebratory activities were officially organized. On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest。
早在周朝(公元前11世纪)人们在冬至的第一天也就是当时的新年进行祭神活动。汉朝最早把冬至当做节日来过，朝廷组织庆祝活动。这天，官府和老百姓例行放假。
During subsequent dynasties, such as the Tang (618-907)， Song (960-1279) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911)， the Winter Solstice was a day to offer sacrifices to Heaven and to ancestors。
到唐、宋、清朝时，冬至这天要祭祀天神和祖先。
2.Eating nuts
吃坚果类食物
When midwinter comes, vital movement begins to decline and calm down. In this period, eating an appropriate amount of nuts, such as peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts and almonds, is good for one’s body. Traditional Chinese medical science teaches that the quality of a nut is tepidity and most nuts have the function of nourishing the kidneys and strengthening the brain and heart。
冬天时户外活动减少，在这段时期，吃一些诸如花生、核桃、栗子等坚果类食物对身体大有好处。坚果类食物有养肾强心脑的功能。
3.Eating dumplings
吃饺子
During Winter Solstice in North China, eating dumplings is essential to the festival. There is a saying that goes "Have dumplings on the first day of Winter Solstice and noodles on the first day of Summer Solstice."
冬至时吃饺子是北方必不可少的节日饭。俗话说，“冬吃饺子夏吃面”
4.Eating wontons
吃馄饨
People in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, are accustomed to eating wontons in midwinter. According to legend, during the midwinter feast 2,500 years ago, the King of Wu (one of the states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period) was disgusted with all kinds of costly foods and wanted to eat something different. Then, the beauty Xishi came into the kitchen to make "wontons" to honor the king’s wish. He ate a lot and liked the food very much. To commemorate Xishi, the people of Suzhou made wontons the official food to celebrate the festival。
苏州人在这天吃馄饨。传说2500年前，吴王吃腻了山珍海味，想尝试些不同的。于是美女西施为吴王准备的就是馄饨。吴王非常喜欢。为了纪念西施，苏州百姓就把馄饨作为冬至这天必吃的食物。
5.Eating tangyuan
吃汤圆
In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour to celebrate Winter Solstice。
上海等地人们食用汤圆来庆祝节日。
6.Eating mutton and vermicelli soup
吃羊汤
In Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, people call midwinter the "Ghost Festival". On that day, it is customary for people there to drink mutton and vermicelli soup and eat the dumplings in the soup. They give the midwinter soup a strange name: "brain" and share it with their neighbors。
银川、宁夏等回族地区把这天称作“鬼节”。在这天，人们和左邻右舍分享羊肉汤和饺子汤。
7.Offering nine-layer cakes to ancestors
九层糕祭祖
Taiwan residents keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. People with the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in order of their ages. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet。
台湾地区的居民在这天仍保持着九层糕祭祖的习俗。同姓同宗者于冬至前后集中到祖祠中，照长幼之序一一祭拜祖先，俗称“祭祖”。祭典之后，还会大摆宴席，招待前来祭祖的宗亲们。
8.Eating red-bean and glutinous rice
吃红豆糯米粥
In some regions south of the Yangtze Riveron the first day of Winter Solstice, the whole family gets together to have a meal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things。
长江流域的一些地区在冬至这天全家人聚在一起吃红豆糯米粥来驱赶鬼怪。
来源:China Daily