Chinese Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice festival according to the Chinese calendar, marked the shortest day of the year and the longest night at the northern hemisphere. It is the time, when Yin-Energy and Yang-Energy is equal to each other and marked the beginning of when the Yin transition to Yang, as the day beginning to get longer again.

It was first celebrated during the Zhou Dynasty, but became an official holiday during the Han Dynasty.

Snowing on the branch of the plum tree. on top right of the picture with the Chinese "冬至" and English "Winter Solstice".

Food:

There are many different customs when celebrating the Winter Solstice, it is mainly divided by the north and south regions of China.

The Northern Chinese and the Southern Chinese are slightly different, where the Northern family celebrating with having Jiao-Zi(Dumplings) and the southerners celebrating by having Tang-Yuan( sweet rice dessert).

Counting The Nines:

The Winter Solstice also marked the beginning of the "nines" in Northern China. Chinese people believed that spring will come after nine periods of nine days starting from the Winter Solstice. Each of the nines marked a significant weather change and over time there is a popular Folk's song, singing the pattern of the nines. People's hopes of the long winter is gone, and looking forward the coming New Year (when the Spring Festival is coming!)

From the day of the winter solstice, the body and heart are like a hide-and-seek, traditions tell us to carefully rest and preserve, patiently anticipating "New Year" while following the change of nature. Have a good Winter Solstice!