In the past, at the beginning of winter, people in Henan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang also used various herbs, chrysanthemums and honeysuckle to soak in water, which was called "scabbing" to treat diseases and ensure healthy winter.
Today, the way to celebrate beginning of winter is also very creative. On that day in Harbin and beginning of winter, the athletes of Heilongjiang Winter Swimming Association crossed the Songhua River to welcome the arrival of winter. In addition, winter swimmers spent the day in this way in Shangqiu, Henan, Yichun, Jiangxi and beginning of winter, Wuhan, Hubei.
Wawa jiaozi instant-boiled mutton
In winter, flowers and trees wither, everything is hidden, and people's diet health care has also entered the stage of "hiding", that is, tonic. As the saying goes: "winter supplements, spring kills tigers." "Color matching" is a major feature of winter diet customs.
In the north, especially in Beijing and Tianjin, beginning of winter pays attention to eating jiaozi. Jiaozi comes from "mating time", and beginning of winter is the turn of autumn and winter, so jiaozi can't help eating when mating. In some places, beginning of winter has the custom of eating pumpkins or soft dates. In the "Old Tianjin Flavor" settlement in Hedong, Tianjin, people eat jiaozi stuffed with pumpkins.
Pumpkin, also known as sleeping melon, pumpkin, rice melon and north melon, is a common vegetable in the north. Generally, pumpkins are bought in summer and stored in huts or windowsills. After a long period of saccharification, they are made into dumpling stuffing in early winter. The taste is different from that of Chinese cabbage and pumpkin stuffing in summer. It is also dipped in vinegar and garlic, which is particularly tasty.
As for the court of the Qing Dynasty, the rule in beginning of winter is to eat instant-boiled mutton, because mutton is a kind of warming and beneficial to the five internal organs. When the five internal organs are hot, they can naturally resist the cold in winter.
Later, people were also keen on it. The shabu-shabu in old Beijing pays attention to the charcoal fire in the copper pot, and the bottom of the soup is clear, just add ginger slices and onion segments. The charcoal fire boiled the clear soup in the pot, holding red and white thin slices of mutton with chopsticks. You rinse it in the soup, and the meat color is dipped in the cold sesame sauce, which melts in the mouth and smells delicious.