In the past few days, the cold wave has struck again, and the temperature in many cities across the country has reached a new low. Surprisingly, this is already the fifth wave of cold waves before the winter solstice this year.
This year's winter solstice intersection time,
It's December 21st,
The eighteenth day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar.
Modern people spend the winter solstice,
It's nothing more than eating and drinking,
If you can go home, you can go home,
Party with friends without coming home.
Northerners eat dumplings,
Southerners beat the side stove.
Qing December Lingtu Axis, November
Although modern people have no sense of ceremony for the winter solstice, many people often hang a sentence on their lips: "The winter solstice is as big as the year."
Cantonese people even say: "The winter solstice is the New Year." This means that the winter solstice is as grand as the Spring Festival, and even larger than the "battle (scene)" of the Spring Festival.
Is this possible? Everyone on the earth knows that the Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. Not to mention the winter solstice, even the Qingming Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival cannot be compared with the Spring Festival.
It is indeed possible,
And it is true in history.
The importance of the winter solstice and the grandeur of the winter solstice,
In the pre-Qin period, there was a "big New Year".
From the Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty,
It used to be "as big as a year" or "only less than a year".
Since modern times, it is only "not as big as the year".
Xie Zhiliu's "RuixueTu"
The so-called "year" originally means that the grain ripening cycle is one year. "Shuowen Jiezi" Yun: "The old man, the ripe valley also." The "year" in the calendar refers to the period from the first day of the first lunar month of last year to the first day of the first lunar month of the previous year. In ancient times, the first day of the first lunar month was the first year, called "Yuan Day", "New Year's Day", "Duan Day", "Shuo Day", etc., which is now the Spring Festival.
Saying that "the winter solstice is a great New Year", first of all, because of the product of the calendar of "year", only by formulating the calendar can the length of the year, the month and the specific time of the first day be deduced, and the determination of the winter solstice is the key to the formulation of the calendar.
To calculate the calendar of one year, we must first set a starting point for calculation, called the calendar. Most of the ancient calendars in China take such a moment as the calendar: in the middle of the night of the first day of November of a certain year, it happens to be the first day of the new year and the winter solstice, and it is also the perigee of the moon.
Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor ordered the big radial to be used as a nail, observed the movement of the sun, moon and stars, and took the winter solstice of the eleventh Shuo Jiazi Day as the calendar, thus formulating China's first calendar, the Yellow Emperor Calendar, and taking the winter solstice of the Jiazi Year of the Jiazi Month Shuo Jiazi Day as the first day.
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, when Sima Qian and others formulated the "Taichu Calendar", they also used the november day and night and the half-Shuodan winter solstice as the calendar.
From this point of view, there is a winter solstice first, and then there is a first day, so "the winter solstice is a big New Year".
Ancient gui watches used to measure the shadow of the sun
Secondly, the winter solstice is the solar terms, and the twenty-four solar terms are the solar part of the lunar calendar, which was originally obtained through the method of "pole shadow measurement", which is based on the sun. The Zhou Gonggui meter measures the length of the sun's shadow and calculates the length and season of the year, which is also based on the sun. Later, the solar ecliptic was divided equally, which was also derived from the sun.
The "year" is derived from the lunar part of the lunar calendar, and the first day of the first lunar month of each year is determined according to the cycle of the moon around the earth.
Therefore, the "source" of the winter solstice is the sun, and the "source" of the first day of the first lunar month is the moon, the sun is yang, the moon is yin, and the yang is large and yin, so the "winter solstice is big for the New Year".
In addition, at the first hour of the first lunar month, the handle of the Big Dipper points to yinfang. During the winter solstice, the handle of the bucket is pointed to the sub-square. Headed by the Twelve Branches of the Lands, it is the beginning of time. In this sense, the winter solstice is also "big New Year".
Wang Xuetao", "Snowbird Diagram"
As for "the winter solstice is as big as the year",
This is a common occurrence in history.
During the Yellow Emperor's reign, November was the first month, with the winter solstice as the beginning of the year, and the winter solstice was equal to the New Year. The Zhou Dynasty also took November as the first month and the first day of November as New Year's Day, although the winter solstice day in November was not necessarily the first day, but the grandeur of the winter solstice at that time was no less than that of the New Year.
"Zhou Yi" repeats the words of the clouds: "The first king to the day retreat, the business travel is not good, and the latter is not conscious." "On the day of the winter solstice, the border plug is closed, the officials do not work, the businessmen do not do business, and everyone takes a holiday to rest.
The Yi Tong Gua Guan says: "At the beginning of the winter solstice, the lord and the courtiers left and right from the music for five days, and the people of the world, and the families from the music for five days, to welcome the day." "Since the winter solstice, Tianzi has led his courtiers to the round hill to worship the heavens, enjoy music, and take five consecutive days off, which is similar to the time of the New Year's holiday now.
In the Han Dynasty, the winter solstice was called the "Winter Festival". The customs of the festival are similar to those of the Zhou Dynasty. In addition to the festival and holidays, there are also "worship winter" and "he winter". Officials visited each other and congratulated each other, as did the people.
The history books say that the winter solstice has three meanings: "One is the cathode, the two are the yang, and the three are the south of the day." "Since the winter solstice is the heaviest, why should we "celebrate winter"?
The Book of Han Yun: "The winter solstice yang qi rises, the king's way is long, and the old he is congratulated." The summer solstice yin qi rises, the king's way disappears, so it is not congratulated. Originally, because the winter solstice was the time of the "first birth of a yang", the ancients thought that this was a sign of the "Chief of the Way", so they congratulated. On the contrary, although the summer solstice is the most yang, it is "the first birth of a yin", and at this time" the "king's way disappears", so it cannot be congratulated.
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, on the winter solstice, the emperor was "congratulated by all nations and hundreds of officials." Because of the small meeting, its Yi is next to the year chaoye. The solemnity of the ceremony of "He Dong" is second only to the New Year on the first day of the first lunar month.
Zhao Shaoang,"Wind and Snow Cold Pine Sleeping Dragon"
Since then, the winter solstice has been known as "sub-age". The night before the first day of the first lunar month is called Chinese New Year's Eve, and the night before the winter solstice is also called "winter removal". The Southern Song Dynasty Chen Yuanliang's "Chronicle of the Ages" quotes the "Miscellaneous Records of the Years" Yun: "The winter solstice is called ya-year, and the laymen take the night before the winter solstice as the winter division, and the large rate is more imitation of the story of the year and the difference is slightly worse." ”
"The winter solstice is like a New Year" is recorded in more detail in the "Tokyo Dream Record" of the Southern Song Dynasty Meng Yuan: "On the winter solstice in November, the Beijing division attaches the most importance to this festival. Although the poorest people accumulate false loans within a year, they are more likely to wear new clothes, prepare food and drink, and enjoy the ancestors. Officials let go of the pass and celebrate the exchanges, just like the New Year's Day. ”
Until the Ming and Qing dynasties, this wind did not change, so the Qing Jia Lu directly said: "The winter solstice is as big as the year." ”
Text: Guangzhou Daily Xinhuacheng reporter Zhong Kui
Photo: Guangzhou Daily Xinhuacheng reporter Zhong Kui (remake)
Guangzhou Daily Xinhuacheng editor Dai Yujing