The Winter Solstice is the twenty-second of the twenty-four solar terms, usually occurring between December 21st and 23rd each year. At this time, the Northern Hemisphere experiences the shortest day and longest night of the year, marking the true arrival of severe cold. After the Winter Solstice, yang energy gradually returns, and the climate enters the coldest phase known as the “Counting of Nines.” In ancient agrarian society, the Winter Solstice was not only a meteorological turning point but also regarded as the “Winter Festival” or “Small New Year,” serving as an important occasion for ancestral worship, family reunions, and rest. As the folk saying goes, “The Winter Solstice is as significant as the New Year.”
Historically, the Winter Solstice embodies people’s reverence for natural cycles and their wisdom in adapting to life’s rhythms. The proverb “At Winter Solstice, yang energy is born” reflects the natural philosophy of the transition between yin and yang. Customs such as “eating dumplings at Winter Solstice and noodles at Summer Solstice” or “having rice balls and New Year cake soup during Winter Solstice” are widespread across regions—northerners enjoy dumplings and wontons, while southerners savor sweet rice balls and glutinous rice cakes, symbolizing reunion, warmth, and prayers for good fortune. Additionally, traditions like drawing the “Nine-Nine Cold Dispelling Chart,” holding ancestral ceremonies, celebrating the winter season, and measuring solar shadows illustrate how people recorded the passage of time through rituals and maintained health through dietary practices during the cold season.
Today, the Winter Solstice continues to carry cultural memory and natural inspiration in modern life. It not only reminds people of the health tradition that “nourishing the body at Winter Solstice ensures strength in the coming year,” but also symbolizes a deeper respect for the cyclical nature of time, the value placed on family reunions, and the sense of tranquility and anticipation as the year draws to a close and spring slowly approaches.
By Yuan Ruichen
