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Chinese Name: 立冬
English Name: Lidong; Beginning of Winter; the 19th of the 24 Solar Terms
Date: Novemeber 7 or 8
Sun Position: Celestial Longitude of 225°
Brief Introduction
Lidong 立冬 is the 19th of the 24 Solar Terms二十四节气. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 225° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 240°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 225°.
Lidong is a seasonal solar term that since then, has entered the winter, meaning that wind and rain, dry and wet, light, temperature, etc., in turn, start from autumn, winter climate transition. ‘Li’, means the beginning; ‘dong’, means ending. Lidong means vitality began to close, and everything enters the rest.
After the beginning of winter, the sunshine time will continue to shorten, and the height of the sun will continue to decrease at noon. Since the heat stored on the surface is still a certain energy, it is not very cold during the early winter. As time goes by, cold air activities are gradually frequent, and the temperature drop in temperature is accelerated.
Lidong, in ancient society is one of the ” four seasons and eight solar terms “, people generally hold a ritual activity. Beginning of winter is a big festival in October. In China, there are customs such as ancestor worship, feasting, and divination. We offer sacrifices to ancestor spirits with seasonal delicacies, so as to fulfil our obligations and responsibilities as human descendants and pray for a good year for the coming year. Get paid for drinking and resting yourself.
Climatic Change
At the time of the winter, the amount of solar radiation obtained by the Northern Hemisphere is less and less, but since the heat stored in the second half of the year has a certain energy, the early winter is generally not too cold. Northeasterly and northerly winds prevail in winter. After winter, cold air frequently strikes south, possibly forming a cold wave with rain and snow.
In the north of the Qinling–Huaihe Line秦岭淮河线, it will cool down this season. Northeast and northwest, this time is already a scene of snow, especially in the Northeast Heilongjiang黑龙江 area, it has been very cold, here is early in the winter, it has been in the winter. The red and yellow scene of autumn in the northwest has not completely faded, but the snow has already fallen.
Health tips in Lidong
After the Beginning of winter, it means that winter officially comes, indicating that the dry and rainy climate in autumn is gradually passing, and it begins to tend to rainy, cold and freezing weather. Although human beings have no hibernation, Chinese folks have a custom of winter. After entering the “Lidong” solar term, the cold air activities are frequent, and the temperature drop becomes more and more obvious.
In cold weather, you should eat more foods that are warm and nourishing. This will not only make your body stronger but also play a good role in keeping out the cold. In the Chaoshan潮汕 of Guangdong, it will eat sugar cane and fried rice in winter. In the Shantou汕头, people have a bowl of pepper rice with lotus seeds, mushrooms, chestnuts, shrimp, carrots, etc., which are warm food. In the north, the rule of the beginning of winter is to eat dumplings, because dumplings are shaped like ears, people think that eating them will prevent the ears from freezing in winter.
Folk-Custom Activity
Eating scallions 吃生葱
There is a saying in Nanjing南京: “Half a spring scallion a day brings wind to your legs in winter.” The general idea is that after the winter, eating half a scallion can improve the vitality of the body, and walk as fast as the wind. In the winter, the old Nanjing people pay special attention to the scallions, to resist the winter wet cold in Nanjing, and to reduce the occurrence of disease.
According to the old man’s speech, the scallion is so sweet, can dispel people sweating, so that the Yang阳 in the body is discharged, the Yang is running smoothly, and the sick evil is also driven by the sweat. Therefore, for the sake of health after winter, most Nanjing people eat raw scallions at this time.
Making rice wine 酿黄酒
It is a traditional wine-making custom in Shaoxing绍兴, Zhejiang Province to start making rice wine on the day of the beginning of winter. Winter water is clear, low temperature, effectively inhibits hemacteria breeding but also forms a good flavour in the low temperature long-term fermentation process, which is the most suitable season for wine fermentation. Therefore, Shaoxing people call the most suitable time for making rice wine from the beginning of winter to the beginning of spring in the second year as “winter brewing”, praying for well-being.
Eating dumplings 吃饺子
In northern China, there is a custom of eating dumplings during the beginning of winter. In Jilin吉林, the rule of the beginning of winter is to eat dumplings, because the dumplings are shaped like ears, people think that eating them will prevent the ears from freezing in winter.
