First, the origin of the folk custom of eating jiaozi in winter.
Eating "frozen ears" is a common name for Henan people to eat jiaozi from the winter solstice. Why is there such a diet custom? According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a doctor from Nanyang, was an official in Changsha. When he retired in his later years, it was a snowy winter and the wind was biting. He was very sad when he saw the villagers on both sides of the Baihe River in Nanyang dressed in rags, and many people's ears were frozen rotten. He asked his disciples to set up a medicine shed in Guandong, Nanyang, and put mutton, peppers and some cold-dispelling herbs in a pot, fished them out and chopped them up, imaged their ears with leather bags, and then put them down in the pot to make a medicine called "cold-dispelling and ear-correcting soup" for the people. After eating it, the villagers' ears will be fine. Later, on the solstice of winter, people imitated and cooked, thus forming the custom of "pinching ears". Later, people called it "jiaozi", while others called it "flat food" and "instant noodle jiaozi". It is also said that people will not be frozen in jiaozi after eating the winter solstice.
Second, the origin of eating jiaozi folk customs in winter.
Eating glutinous rice balls was established in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the solstice of winter, it is necessary to "make dumplings" or "make dumplings". These are also officially recorded in historical materials. The history says that "on the winter solstice, powdered glutinous rice is a pill, which is called' glutinous rice balls'". After jiaozi is wrapped up, it is necessary to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors, and then the whole family will eat around. This is called "adding years". Therefore, it is very old to eat glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter. The ancients had a poem about eating dumplings: "Every family smashed rice to make dumplings, knowing that it was the winter solstice of the Ming Dynasty." Eating glutinous rice balls on the solstice in winter is a traditional custom in China, especially in the south of the Yangtze River. There is a folk saying that "eating glutinous rice balls is one year older". Tangyuan is also called jiaozi, and eating jiaozi on the winter solstice is also called "jiaozi on the winter solstice"; Tangyuan can be used for ancestor worship or as a gift to relatives and friends.
There is also a saying that the winter solstice is the longest night in a year. On the solstice of winter, before dawn, women get up and make a fire to cook jiaozi. First, they worship their ancestors, and then the whole family sit around and eat jiaozi. Therefore, eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter means not only the gradual return of the sun, but also reunion. Modern people prefer to regard it as a symbol of perfection.
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