2012年8月16日星期四

Will Santa Claus Eat Dumplings on the Winter Solstice Day?


The “冬至 (dōngzhì) Winter Solstice” is one of the twenty-four “节气 (jiéqì) solar terms” and a traditional festival for “汉族 (hànzú) Han ethnic group.” Winter Solstice is a day between December 21 to 23 on the solar calendar, which is very near to Christmas day. In many areas in China, particularly in the Northern part, there is a “传说 (chuánshuō) legend” that anyone who doesn’ t eat “饺子 (jiǎozi) dumplings” on the Winter Solstice Day will get his ears frostbitten. As a result, most people of Northern China eat dumplings on that day. Of course, no one will lose his ears without eating dumplings on Winter Solstice Day. In fact, this custom was to commemorate the Eastern Han Dynasty’s “医圣 (yīshèng) Medical Sage” Zhang Zhongjing, who was supposed to have cured people’ s frostbitten ears.
Before Santa Claus comes to Northern China on the cold Christmas Eve, eating a bowl of steaming hot dumplings would keep him warm and energetic on his way to every child’ s home!
Learn more at

没有评论:

发表评论