How did the winter solstice come about?

　　The earliest records of the Winter Solstice Festival originated from the Han Dynasty. It became a national festival for the Chinese people in the Tang and Song Dynasties and has remained until today. There are even records in many ancient books that "celebrating the winter solstice is like celebrating the New Year". In ancient times, people believed that the winter solstice was the natural transformation of yin and yang, a blessing given by God, so most people rested on this day. The army was in retreat, the border fortresses were in retreat, business and travel were closed, the court was not in charge, and the government offices were on holiday. Relatives and friends presented each other with delicacies, visited each other, and happily celebrated a festival of "settle down and calm down". “There are many names for "Winter Solstice Sub-year Banquet", such as "eating Winter Solstice meat", "offering Winter Solstice plate", "offering Winter Solstice group", "Wonton worship", etc. So what is the origin of the winter solstice? How did the winter solstice come about?

　　According to the records of the Zhou Dynasty, people used the winter solstice to worship the sky in the countryside. And because the first month of the Zhou calendar was the eleventh month of the summer calendar, the first month of the Zhou Dynasty was equal to our current eleventh month, so there was no difference between paying New Year greetings and greeting the winter. It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the summer calendar that the first month and the winter solstice were separated. Therefore, it can also be said that the "Winter Festival" only existed after the Han Dynasty.

　　Due to the difference in calendars, the people have always inherited the weekly calendar, believing that after the winter solstice is the beginning of another year (there is a saying that eating Yuanzi makes you one year older). This is why the winter solstice is so valued among the people. However, such erroneous inheritance has made the folk concept very different from the lunar calendar currently used in date selection. Such misconceptions should be corrected and the correct calendar should be passed down.

　　From the perspective of solar terms, the winter solstice is a very important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar and is also a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. The winter solstice is commonly known as "Winter Festival", "Changzhi Festival", "Yasui", etc. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,500 years ago, China had already used Tugui Observing the sun, we determined the winter solstice, which is the earliest one of the twenty-four solar terms. It takes place between December 21 and 23 of the solar calendar every year. This year's winter solstice is December 22. This day is the shortest day and the longest night in the whole year in the northern hemisphere.

　　The ancients believed that at the winter solstice, although it was still a cold season, spring was not far away. At this time, people who go out have to go home for the winter festival, which means they have a destination at the end of the year. Folks in Fujian and Taiwan believe that the winter solstice is a festival for the whole family to reunite every year, because it is a day to worship ancestors. If you go out and do not go home, you will not recognize your ancestors.

　　In addition, folk people use the weather quality and arrival sequence on the winter solstice to predict the future weather. As the saying goes: "The winter solstice is at the beginning of the month, and it is cold at the end of the month; the winter solstice is at the end of the month, and it is cold at the end of the first month; the winter solstice is in the middle of the month, and there is no snow or frost" (this is based on the arrival time of the winter solstice, and it is estimated how early or late the cold wave will arrive in Taiwan); the saying also goes: "The winter solstice is dark, and the new year is sparse; the winter solstice is sparse, and the new year is dark" (meaning: if there is no sun on the winter solstice, then the new year will be sunny, and conversely, if it is clear on the winter solstice, it will rain during the new year).