24 Solar Terms: 9 things about Winter Solstice 24节气：关于冬至的9件事

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Winter Solstice (Chinese: 冬至), the 22nd solar term of the year, begins this year on Dec 22 and ends on Jan 5.
中国传统的农历把一年分为24个节气。冬至，一年当中的第22个节气，在今年的12月22日开始，1月5日结束。

On the first day of Winter Solstice, the Northern Hemisphere experiences the shortest day and the longest night in the year, as the sun shines directly at the Tropic of Capricorn. From then on, the days become longer and the nights become shorter. The Winter Solstice also marks the arrival of the coldest season in the year.
在冬至的第一天，北半球经历了一年当中最短的白天，和最长的夜晚，因为太阳直射在南回归线上。从这时起，白天会越来越长，而夜晚会越来越短。冬至也标志着一年当中最冷季节的到来。

Here are nine things you should know about Winter Solstice.
以下是关于冬至你应该知道的9件事。

The Winter Solstice Festival
冬至节

There was a saying in ancient China, "The Winter Solstice is as significant as the Spring Festival."
中国古代有句谚语：“冬至和和春节同样重要。”

As early as the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256BC), people worshipped the gods on the first day of the Winter Solstice, which also was the first day of the new year. The Winter Solstice became a winter festival during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220AD). The celebratory activities were officially organized. On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest.
早在周朝的时候，百姓会在冬至的第一天崇拜众神，这一天也是新年的第一天。到了汉朝的时候，冬至变成了冬节，会组织正式的庆祝活动。在这天，官员和百姓都会休息。

During subsequent dynasties, such as the Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911), the Winter Solstice was a day to offer sacrifices to Heaven and to ancestors.
在随后的朝代，比如唐朝（618-907），宋朝（960-1279）和清朝（1644-1911），冬至成为了祭拜天神和祖先的日子。

Eating nuts
吃坚果

When midwinter arrives, vital movement begins to decline and calm down. In this period, eating an appropriate amount of nuts, such as peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts and almonds, is good for one's body. Traditional Chinese medical science teaches that the quality of a nut is tepidity and most nuts have the function of nourishing the kidneys and strengthening the brain and heart.
当冬至到来时，生命活动开始减少然后沉寂。在这个时期，吃适量的坚果，比如花生，核桃，板栗，榛子和杏仁，对身体有益。传统中医学认为，坚果的品质是不温不火，同时大多数坚果都有补肾，健脑，强心的作用。

Eating dumplings
吃饺子

During Winter Solstice in North China, eating dumplings is essential to the festival. There is a saying that goes "Have dumplings on the first day of Winter Solstice and noodles on the first day of Summer Solstice."
在中国北方的冬至，吃饺子是必不可少的。有一个说法是 “在冬至第一天吃饺子，在夏至第一天吃面。”

Eating wontons
吃云吞

People in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, are accustomed to eating wontons in midwinter. According to legend, during the midwinter feast 2,500 years ago, the King of Wu (one of the states during the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Period) was disgusted with all kinds of costly foods and wanted to eat something different. Then, the beauty Xishi came into the kitchen to make "wontons" to honor the king's wish. He ate a lot and liked the food very much. To commemorate Xishi, the people of Suzhou made wontons the official food to celebrate the festival.
讲江苏苏州，人们习惯在冬至吃云吞。据传说，在2500年前的隆冬宴会上，吴国君王（西周春秋时期的一个国家）对所有昂贵食材感到厌恶，然后想要吃一些不一样的东西。然后，美女西施走进厨房，做了一份云吞满足了君王的愿望。君王很喜欢这种食物并且吃了很多。为了纪念西施，苏州人们将云吞作为节日庆祝的官方食物。

Eating tangyuan
吃汤圆

In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour, to celebrate Winter Solstice.
在上海等地，人们会吃汤圆来庆祝冬至，这是一种用糯米粉做的馅饺子。

Eating mutton and vermicelli soup
吃羊肉粉丝汤

In Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, people call midwinter the "Ghost Festival". On that day, it is customary for people there to drink mutton and vermicelli soup and eat the dumplings in the soup. They give the midwinter soup a strange name - "brain" - and share it with their neighbors.
在宁夏回族自治区银川，人们把冬至称为“鬼节”。在这一天，那儿的人们会喝羊肉粉丝汤，还有吃汤里的饺子。他们给冬至汤起了个奇特的名字“大脑”，然后会和邻居一起分享。

Eating rice cakes
吃年糕

During the Winter Solstice, Hangzhou residents traditionally eat rice cakes. In the past, before the approach of the winter solstice, every household would make the cakes to worship their ancestors or use as gifts for relatives and friends. Today, though fewer families eat homemade cakes, people there still buy rice cakes for the Winter Solstice Festival.
在冬至期间，杭州居民的传统是吃年糕。过去，在冬至到来之际，每家每户都会制作年糕来祭拜祖先，或馈赠亲友。到了今天，虽然越来越少家庭会自己做年糕，那里的人们仍会在冬至节买年糕。

Offering nine-layer cakes to ancestors
向祖先供奉九层饼

Taiwan residents keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. People with the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in order of their ages. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet.
台湾居民有向祖先供奉九层饼的习俗。拥有相同姓氏或家族的人们会在宗祠聚会，并按照年龄顺序来祭拜他们的祖先。在祭拜仪式结束后，会有一个盛大的宴会。

Eating red-bean and glutinous rice
吃红豆和糯米

In some regions south of the Yangtze River on the first day of Winter Solstice, the whole family gets together to have a meal made of red bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things.
在长江以南的一些地区，在冬至的第一天，会全家人聚在一起吃红豆和糯米饭，来驱赶鬼混和其他邪恶的东西。