The winter solstice is an important folk festival in Shanxi in November of the lunar calendar, commonly known as the "Winter Festival". During the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, it was stipulated that the day before the winter solstice was the end of the year. The winter solstice festival is essentially equivalent to today's Spring Festival. Later, the summer calendar was implemented. However, the winter solstice has always ranked first among the 24 solar terms, and there is a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as a year", which is called "sub-year".

Celebrations have been held since the Han Dynasty. At the peak, the court has a three-day holiday, so you don't listen to politics. People closed the city for three days to celebrate the festival. It is as lively as the Chinese New Year. Today's winter solstice festival still retains many historical sites. From the winter of the solstice, it entered the cold weather for several days in a row. There is a folk custom of drawing "Cold Map in September and September" in various forms. There is a plum blossom, and 998 1 flower is painted in plain ink. Dye a petal with a red pen or a black pen every day, and the petal will come out in 1999, which is called 99-99 cold elimination map. Some are tied horizontally to make a square diagram of 998 1 grid. Apply a grid of nine grids every day, which is called 99-99 anti-cold table. Draw a few empty squares and choose a few words. Each word must be several strokes. Write a stroke every day and finally become a sentence, such as "Looking at Feng Gu in front of the pavilion and behind the house". This is called "Jiujiu Quhan". The most elegant sentence is to make a nine-body couplet. Nine words per couplet, nine pictures per word, and each couplet is filled in daily. For example, the couplet reads "Spring hangs, spring blooms, spring blooms"; The second couplet is called "Autumn Persimmon Hanging in Autumn Courtyard to Send Autumn Fragrance", and it is called "Eliminating Cold and Welcoming Spring in September". What form each family takes is often determined by the owner's hobbies and cultural quality.

There is also a folk proverb about "getting rid of the cold in the ninth five-year plan": "It's cloudy and sunny, and the left wind is foggy and snowy. The picture is dark, and the grass is outside the door. " On the winter solstice festival, people are used to giving away shoes, and its origin is very old. "China's Notes on Ancient and Modern Times" said: "There were embroidered mandarin ducks in the Han Dynasty, and Emperor Zhao ordered his aunt to go to the winter solstice." Cao Zhi's "Winter Solstice Socks and Shoes Table" also has a sentence: "Welcome in the coming year and celebrate for a long time." Later, the custom of sending shoes to uncles and aunts gradually became that uncles and aunts sent shoes and hats to nephews. Mainly reflected in children. It used to be mainly hand embroidery. As a gift for men, hats are mostly made in the shape of tigers and dogs, and embroidered shoes are also beasts. For girls, hats are mostly made in the shape of phoenix, and embroidery on shoes is mostly flowers and birds. Nowadays, most of them are purchased from collecting coins, and the form keeps up with the trend of the times. On holidays, adults always like to drop in to see their children and praise the shoes and hats given by their uncles and aunts.

In winter solstice, boys in northern Shaanxi are used to playing gang games. Holding a square stone piece the size of a palm, one side stands up, and the other side throws and hits in turn according to a set of prescribed actions. When knocking down the pillars set by the other side, move on. After the failure, exchange throws with each other. Whoever finishes all the procedures first will win. Girls are used to kicking shuttlecock in various forms. People often have to join in the fun and play. In the winter solstice festival, the old customs should also be entertained by teachers from the East School. Teacher Wang will lead the students to worship Confucius memorial tablet. Then, Dongxue led the students to pay homage to Mr. ..

There is a saying in Shanxi that "teachers teach on the winter solstice", which is the custom of respecting teachers and valuing Taoism. Until now, there is still the custom of inviting teachers to dinner on the winter solstice. Northwest Shanxi used to entertain teachers with stewed mutton, which was full of affection. In the past, domestic helpers used to settle their wages with their employers during the winter solstice and then prepare to go home. Traditionally, the host will hold a banquet to entertain the guys and discuss the affairs of next year with each other. Today, some rural self-employed people still keep this custom, holding banquets and drinking alcohol on the winter solstice.