Chapter 33 Eighth Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is also called "Winter Festival", "Long Solstice Festival", "He Dong Festival" and so on.The winter solstice is one of the earliest solar terms established in the twenty-four solar terms. It is the day with the shortest day and the longest night in the whole year in the northern hemisphere.The ancients believed that after the winter solstice, the days are getting longer and the yang energy is rising, which is an auspicious day, so it is worth celebrating.As early as the Zhou Dynasty, the winter solstice was regarded as a day for worshiping gods, and all subsequent generations also regarded the winter solstice as a major festival.

According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty": "Before and after the winter solstice, the gentleman should be quiet and calm, and all officials should stop their work. They don't listen to the government. They choose an auspicious day and then save trouble."After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the imperial court held a grand court meeting on this day, and the scale of the ceremony was second only to the New Year's Day court meeting.At the ceremony, the emperor would accept congratulations from envoys from various countries and neighboring nations, as well as civil and military officials, which was called court greeting ceremony.Officials who entered the court had to wear court clothes to see them as if they were performing sacrificial ceremonies.The Song Dynasty also specially formulated the ceremonial guards for the Winter Solstice Festival.Because the etiquette of the winter solstice is more than that of the regular festival, and the ceremony is like New Year's Day, there is still a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as the year".

The folk Winter Solstice Festival is also very lively, and many festival customs are similar to New Year's Day, so it is also called "sub-year".On the night before the winter solstice, family members sit around and persuade each other to drink freely, which is called "saving wine".On the winter solstice, it is popular to pay homage to ancestors and visit relatives and friends. "Tokyo Menghualu" contains: "The winter solstice in November is the most important festival in the capital. Even if you are poor, you will accumulate borrowings within a year. On this day, you can change new clothes, prepare meals, and enjoy ancestors. (Casinos are allowed to be opened), celebrate the coming and going, just like the New Year's Day." Gifts must be given when visiting during the winter solstice. There is such a poem in "Qing Jialu" that describes the grand occasion of gift giving: "Every family talks about the rituals during the winter solstice, welcome and send them away. It takes a lot of effort. The chest is full of nosy things, and the original will be returned after a long time." Most of the gifts given during the winter solstice are food, but the custom of giving shoes and socks during the winter solstice was popular during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.Cao Zhi's "Winter Solstice Socks Praise Table" said: "The winter solstice of the country presents tribute socks, so we welcome blessings and practice growth." , known as "Congratulations to the Chief".This is because the days are getting longer and longer after the winter solstice, and offering new shoes and socks on the winter solstice is a blessing for longevity.Later, there are few records of offering shoes and socks to emperors, but the etiquette of offering shoes and socks to parents-in-law has been prevalent in some areas for a long time.

Since about the Song Dynasty, there has been a custom of "counting nine" among the people, that is, nine days from the winter solstice are a time period, arranged in a cycle, and after ninety-nine and eighty-one days, the spring breeze will bring warmth and the cold will disappear.In conjunction with the number nine, the custom of filling and dyeing "nine-nine cold-dispelling pictures" was also popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are many types of "nine-nine cold-dispelling pictures". Some draw a plain plum with 81 plum blossoms on it. From the winter solstice, Fill in one flower with a red pen every day, and when all are painted, the counting of nine is over. Some draw nine groups of circles or nine squares, which are also 81 circles or grids, and one is dyed every day. When dyeing, it must be dyed once a day. If it is missed, it is not allowed to advance. There is also a folk formula for dyeing: "Among the upper cloudy and the lower clear snow, the left wind and the right rain must be distinguished.Ninety-nine and eighty-one are all over, spring returns and the earth is green. "That is to say, when dyeing the picture of eliminating cold, you can't paint all the flowers or grids and circles, but only half of it. For example, paint the upper part on cloudy days, paint the lower part on sunny days, paint the left side when there is wind, paint the right side when it rains, and paint it when it snows. Then paint the middle. When the number nine is over, it actually becomes an interesting record map of weather conditions. There is also a "Nine Nine Spring Festival couplets", the upper and lower couplets are nine characters, and each character is also nine pictures, such as "Old City Autumn Barren screens, fences, trees withered and flourishing, courtyards in spring and alleys covered with grass.” This kind of empty-shadow couplet is written in each of the upper and lower couplets every day. The Spring Festival couplets that match the rhythm and rhythm are vividly presented on the paper. "Nine-Nine Cold Dispelling Picture" was originally just a game to relieve boredom in the cold winter, but it also entrusted people's hope for spring. In addition, the court in the late Ming Dynasty also During the winter solstice, the "Nine Nine Cold Dispelling Poems" are printed and distributed, so making and presenting the "Nine Nine Cold Dispelling Pictures" has become an important part of the etiquette and customs of the Winter Solstice Festival.