The Winter Solstice is one of the twenty-four solar terms and a traditional festival of the Chinese nation. The date is between December 21st and 23rd in the Gregorian calendar.

In the folks, there is a saying that “the winter solstice is as big as the year”, but different localities have different customs during the winter solstice. In the north, most people have the custom of eating dumplings, and most people in the south have the custom of eating sweets.

The winter solstice is a good time for health preservation, mainly because “qi starts at the winter solstice.” Because from the beginning of winter, life activities began to turn from decline to prosperity, from quiet to rotation. At this time, scientific health preservation helps ensure vigorous energy and prevent premature aging, and achieve the purpose of prolonging life. During the winter solstice, the diet should be varied, with a reasonable combination of grains, fruits, meat, and vegetables, and appropriate selection of high-calcium foods.

Astronomy regards the winter solstice as the beginning of winter, which is obviously late for most regions in China. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year anywhere in the northern hemisphere. After the winter solstice, the direct sun point gradually moved northward, the day in the northern hemisphere began to become longer, and the sun height at noon gradually increased. Therefore, there is a saying, “After ate the winter solstice noodles, daylight longer day by day.”