The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Winter Solstice, the 22nd solar term of the year, begins this year on Dec 21. Here are several things you should know about Winter Solstice.
The Winter Solstice Festival
There was a saying in ancient China, “The Winter Solstice is as significant as the Spring Festival.” As early as the Zhou Dynasty, people worshiped the gods on the first day of the Winter Solstice, which also was the first day of the new year. The Winter Solstice became a winter festival during the Han Dynasty. The celebratory activities were officially organized. On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest. During the following dynasties, such as the Tang , Song and Qing dynasties, the Winter Solstice was a day to offer sacrifices to Heaven and to ancestors.
Eating dumplings
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.”
Eating tangyuan
In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of sticky rice flour, to celebrate Winter Solstice.
Eating rice cakes
During the Winter Solstice, Hangzhou residents traditionally eat rice cakes. In the past, before the approach of the winter solstice, every household would make the cakes to worship their ancestors or use as gifts for relatives and friends. Today, though fewer families eat homemade cakes, people there still buy rice cakes for the Winter Solstice Festival.
Eating mutton and vermicelli soup
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.
1. Which of the following statements is true?
A.People started to offer sacrifices to ancestors in the Han Dynasty. |
B.It is an old tradition to worship the gods during the Winter Solstice. |
C.Only officials could celebrate the Winter Solstice in the Han Dynasty. |
D.The Winter Solstice became an official festival during the Zhou Dynasty. |
2. What may a person living in Beijing eat during the Summer Solstice?
A.Tangyuan. | B.Rice cakes. | C.Dumplings. | D.Noodles. |
3. In which places will people eat dumplings during the Winter Solstice?
A.North China and Hangzhou. | B.Hangzhou and Shanghai. |
C.Shanghai and Ningxia. | D.Ningxia and North China. |