It occurs every year between December 21st and 23rd on the solar calendar. This is the day on the northern hemisphere with the least amount of daytime and greatest amount of nighttime in the entire year.
After this day, many places in China go through the coldest period, which is called in Chinese, “Shu Jiu”. In total, there are nine periods with nine days for each. In the first and second nine days, people keep their hands in pockets; in the third and fourth nine days, people can walk on ice; in the fifth and sixth nine days, people can see willows along the river bank; in the seventh and eighth nine days, the swallow comes back and in the ninth nine days, the yak starts working.
People in the North Eat Dumplings.Whether rich or poor, dumplings are an indispensable holiday food on the day of winter solstice . There is a saying that goes: “All families eat dumplings when winter solstice arrives in the eleventh lunar month.” This custom has been preserved in order to commemorate the “medical sage” Zhang Zhongjing who donated medicine to the poor on the winter.Different places have different customs during the winter solstice. However, a majority of places have a custom of eating dumplings on the winter solstice. A distinctive seasonal dining culture has formed during the winter solstice over the course of thousands of years of development. Eating dumplings has become a winter solstice custom for the majority of Chinese people.
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 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.