24 Solar Terms-winter solstice

The Summer Solstice has the longest day and shortest night in a year, while the opposite is true for the Winter Solstice

The Winter Solstice Festival As early as 2500 years ago, about the Spring and Autumn Period ( 770-476 BC), China had determined the point of Winter Solstice by observing movements of the sun with a sundial. It is the earliest of the 24 seasonal division points.

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 nice 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.

If Winter Solstice comes, can Spring Festival be far behind?