Tomorrow will usher in the winter solstice. The winter solstice is also known as the "Winter Festival" or "Hedong", that is, after the winter solstice, winter is officially coming, and the weather will get colder and colder until the vernal equinox begins to heat up. According to the customs of the Chinese people, they always reunite on the winter solstice to eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls, or search for some good luck recipes, hoping to transfer smoothly after the winter solstice, but few people know that the winter solstice is actually a "ghost festival", around the winter solstice For half a month, some customs and taboos handed down by ancestors are best not to be touched, so as not to invite bad luck!
The Winter Solstice is actually the "Ghost Festival"
The day with the shortest day and longest night in the northern hemisphere is in the winter solstice. Therefore, the ancients believed that the day of the winter solstice was "at the time of the cathode, and the yang begins to grow." Because the sky is getting dark quickly, they will go home early on this day. According to "Ghost Festival", many regions also have the custom of offering sacrifices to the sky and ancestors on the winter solstice day.
Red and white glutinous rice balls "prohibited singular"
Most families will get together on the winter solstice and eat a bowl of hot, sweet glutinous rice balls at the same table. Eating glutinous rice balls symbolizes reunion and ageing. The traditional red and white glutinous rice balls also have their own meanings, which can attract marriage and popularity. When serving and eating glutinous rice balls, singular numbers are forbidden, so as to "double in and out".
"Don't use big things" around the winter solstice
Among the traditional taboos in many places in China, marriage should avoid the "four standing and four solstices". The four standings are called "the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn and the beginning of winter". The unlucky "Four Jue Days" and "Four Li Days". Because Sijue is the end of the four seasons, and Sili is the beginning of the four seasons. When the four seasons alternate, the seasons are connected, and the yin and yang are ebb and flow, all things and everything will have a temporary "chaos" phenomenon at this node, so we Every time these solar terms are reached, you will see four words in the almanac: Do not use important events.
Don’t overwork your husband and wife “communication”
There is a set of eugenics rules in ancient times that if a couple “communicate” in a “bodily vigorous” situation, not only will they be less damaging to their vitality, but the child will be healthier. On the contrary, the winter solstice is the “day of the cathode”. When the flames are at their weakest, it is better to avoid too frequent and hard-working couples "communication".
Daughter-in-law cannot "go back to her natal house"
In ancient times, due to the relatively long distance between women’s husband’s home and their natal home and the lack of transportation, women seldom returned to their natal homes, and they often returned to their natal homes on the day of family reunion. However, although the winter solstice is also a reunion festival, in ancient folk customs, married daughters are not allowed to return to their natal homes on this day. This action may be offensive to in-laws. However, according to scholars' research, the original intention of this practice was that the cold weather during the winter solstice would cause the daughter-in-law to catch a cold when they went out. They also worried that the parents-in-law might be uncomfortable due to the low temperature and be left unattended. In fact, this statement was spread out of goodwill.
Winter Solstice "Avoid Traveling"
Since the winter solstice is the shortest day of the day, it is said that tengu will find an incarnation in the world on that day, so don't wander around when it's dark, and try not to travel far. Of course, this is a superstition. From a scientific point of view, after the winter solstice, the day will slowly become longer, and the yang qi will begin to grow, and you must rest and recuperate.
In the eyes of the ancients, these taboos on the winter solstice will lead to bad luck if they are violated. For modern people, they may be dismissive. But these taboos of the ancients are not nonsense and have no scientific basis. During the winter solstice, the sky is cold and overcast. It is the time when the body is "closed" and "rested" to store energy. After this day, because of less consumption and more supplementation, it is possible to survive the winter safely and to welcome the New Year in good health.
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