The Winter Solstice is as big as a year.

Published:

2023-05-19

The Winter Solstice is not only a very important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar, but also a traditional festival. up to now, there are still many places that have the custom of the Winter Solstice, and there is a saying that the Winter Solstice is as big as a year.
The Winter Solstice is an extremely important festival in ancient times.
The Winter Solstice is the beginning of the "count of nine" in the middle of winter, and the cold and cold climate has reached the extreme, but it is also the solar terms of the beginning of Yang Qi and the return of spring in winter. From then on, the days are getting longer and longer, so Qing Jialu believes that "the Winter Solstice is as big as a year." it's a day to celebrate.
For a period of time in history, the Winter Solstice was regarded as the "head of the year" and the "Winter Solstice Festival" as a festival like today's Spring Festival (New Year's Day of the lunar calendar).
When the Winter Solstice Festival disappeared with the development of history, some of its customs gradually integrated into the customs of the Spring Festival.
The Winter Solstice used to be a "year" for two reasons: first, the November of the lunar calendar where the Winter Solstice is located was once the first month of the lunar calendar; second, in ancient times, the 24 solar terms were calculated from the Winter Solstice, so the Winter Solstice was the "first of the year." celebrating the Winter Solstice Festival is like celebrating the first day of the Lunar New year (Spring Festival) later.
The Winter Solstice was determined as early as the Spring and Autumn period more than two thousand years ago, and the Winter Solstice was the beginning of the year from the Zhou Dynasty to the Qin Dynasty.
The Han Dynasty took the Winter Solstice as the winter festival, and the government held a congratulatory ceremony, called "he Dong", and had a regular holiday.
It is recorded in the Book of the later Han Dynasty: "before and after the Winter Solstice, the gentleman settled down and did nothing, did not listen to the government, chose auspicious Chen and then saved trouble."
On this day, the court will have a holiday, the army will be on standby, the border fortress will be closed, business travel will be closed, and relatives and friends will give each other delicious food and visit each other.
Since the Song Dynasty, the Winter Solstice became the day of offering sacrifices to his ancestors, on which people paid homage to their parents and elders.
On this day, the emperor will go to the suburbs to hold a ceremony to offer sacrifices to heaven, so the Winter Solstice has always been known as "sub-year-old".
Qing Jialu also called the Winter Solstice the "Winter Solstice Festival", which shows that the ancients attached great importance to the Winter Solstice and believed that the Winter Solstice was a natural transformation of Yin and Yang and a blessing from God.