The winter solstice is the 22nd solar term among the twenty-four solar terms and the fourth solar term in winter. It is also one of the most important traditional festivals in our country. It is also called the Winter Festival, sub-year , Xiaonian Festival, Changzhi Festival, etc. Because the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Capricorn on the winter solstice, it is the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. Therefore, it was called "short day" or "short day solstice" in ancient times. The winter solstice usually falls between December 21 and 23 of the Gregorian calendar every year. This year’s winter solstice happens to be on December 22.
The Winter Solstice has both natural and humanistic connotations. It has been valued by the Chinese people since ancient times, and thus the rich and colorful traditional customs have been formed. According to historical documents, Chinese people have the earliest custom of conducting sacrificial activities on the winter solstice as early as the Zhou Dynasty. However, the calendar used at that time was different from the Xia calendar (lunar calendar) used today. The winter solstice happened to be the first month of the weekly calendar, so people had the custom of paying New Year greetings and celebrating the New Year. Do you know which dynasty the custom of celebrating the Winter Solstice originated from?
Ant Manor Small Classroom Guess: From which dynasty did the custom of celebrating the Winter Solstice come from?
options: A. Han Dynasty , B. Tang Dynasty .
The custom of celebrating the winter solstice actually originated from the Han Dynasty, because Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty abandoned the weekly calendar and re-adopted the summer calendar (lunar calendar) as the country's legal calendar. In this way, the winter solstice was separated from the first month and officially became an independent festival. It officially became one of the festivals that has influenced later generations for more than two thousand years. The custom of celebrating the winter solstice originated in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Until now, there is still a saying among Chinese people that "the Winter Solstice is as big as the New Year", which shows that people attach great importance to the Winter Solstice festival.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the winter solstice was the day when the royal family offered sacrifices to the heaven, earth and ancestors. People also worshiped their ancestors on this day. This custom is still passed down. Many people in southern my country still have the custom of worshiping their ancestors and having banquets.
There are many differences in the content and details of the winter solstice festival customs in various places. In the north, there is a custom of eating dumplings every winter solstice.
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