Winter Solstice (Dongzhi)

Winter Solstice (Dongzhi, 冬至), at solar longitude 270°, is the shortest day of the year and a major festival for family reunions, rice balls and dumplings.

Solar longitude

270°

Type

Principal term (zhongqi)

Season

Winter

Order

No. 22 of 24

Usual dates

Dec 21–22

Meaning and Astronomy

Dongzhi (冬至) begins when the sun reaches ecliptic longitude 270°, usually between 21 and 23 December, most often on the 21st or 22nd. The sun stands over the Tropic of Capricorn, giving the northern hemisphere its shortest day, longest night and longest noon shadow. Ancient astronomers fixed the solstice by measuring the shadow of a gnomon, making it one of the first terms to be determined and the anchor of calendar calculations.

It is a zhongqi (中氣) or 'principal' term, the principal term of the eleventh lunar month, and by calendar rules it always falls in that month. Afterwards the days lengthen again. Tradition says 'at the Winter Solstice, yang is born': yin has reached its peak and yang begins to return, one reason the day was considered auspicious.

The Three Pentads

• First pentad: Earthworms curl up (蚯蚓結) - earthworms were believed to stay knotted underground, still sheltering from the cold.
• Second pentad: Elk shed their antlers (麋角解) - the milu deer, regarded as a yin animal, sheds its antlers in response to returning yang.
• Third pentad: Springs begin to flow (水泉動) - underground water starts moving, a sign of yang stirring beneath the earth.

Climate and Farming

From the solstice northern China enters its coldest stretch. People 'count the nines', dividing the next 81 days into nine periods of nine days; a popular rhyme notes that in the third and fourth nines one can walk on the ice, and the coldest days usually fall then. Southern China, Taiwan and Hong Kong see no snow, but cold surges around the solstice often bring a sharp chill.

Northern fields mostly lie fallow, and work centres on protecting winter wheat, gathering manure and repairing irrigation. In the south, farmers tend winter vegetables and rapeseed and guard against frost.

History and Traditions

The solstice has been celebrated for a very long time. The Zhou calendar began its year with the eleventh month, the month of the solstice. In the Han dynasty the 'winter festival' was an official holiday when government business paused, and by the Song dynasty it was celebrated almost as grandly as New Year, giving rise to the saying 'the Winter Solstice is as big as New Year' and the nickname 'second new year' (亞歲). Ming and Qing emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven at the Circular Mound of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on this day, one of the most solemn state rites.

Honouring ancestors is the most widespread custom, especially among clans in Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan, who make offerings at ancestral halls or home altars. Old Beijing ate wonton at the solstice; Suzhou families drink sweet winter-brewed wine at a reunion dinner on solstice eve; Ningbo makes sweet-potato rice-ball soup.

Scholars kept a 'Nine Nines Cold-Dispelling Chart' (九九消寒圖): on the solstice they drew a plum branch with 81 petals and coloured one each day, finishing as spring returned. Another version uses nine characters of nine strokes each, tracing one stroke a day.

Regional Customs and Food

In the south, glutinous rice balls (tangyuan) are the essential dish. In Taiwan, where the day is called the 'winter festival', families roll red and white rice balls to offer to ancestors, and eating them is said to make you one year older; an old custom even stuck rice balls on doors and furniture as offerings. Chaoshan people eat 'winter festival balls', and Chinese communities across Southeast Asia also eat tangyuan.

Northern China eats dumplings, with a saying that if you skip them your ears will freeze off. A legend credits the Eastern Han physician Zhang Zhongjing with wrapping mutton and herbs in ear-shaped dough to help the poor with frostbitten ears; it is a popular story rather than documented history.

Hong Kong and Guangdong say 'the Winter Solstice is bigger than New Year' (冬至大過年). Families gather for a solstice dinner called zuo dong, often after ancestor offerings. In Hong Kong the solstice is not a general public holiday, but employers may choose it or Christmas Day as a statutory holiday, and many workplaces let staff leave early. Macau lists the solstice as a public holiday.

Elsewhere in East Asia, Koreans eat red bean porridge (patjuk), traditionally believed to ward off evil, and in Japan people take yuzu baths and eat pumpkin. Traditional wellness sees the solstice as a time to conserve energy and enjoy warming food in moderation - cultural lore rather than medical advice.

Winter Solstice (Dongzhi): dates and times by year

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