Winter · No.22
Winter Solstice
Dong Zhi
The shortest day of the year, after which the light returns by minutes, and northern kitchens fill with dumplings.
At the Winter Solstice the sun stands over the Tropic of Capricorn, giving the northern hemisphere its shortest day and longest noon shadow. The coldest weeks are still ahead, yet daylight now grows minute by minute, and older calendars treated this as the start of a new cycle. Earthworms knot themselves, deer shed their antlers, springs keep running under the ice. Northern families wrap ear-shaped dumplings, following an old story about the frost; the south eats sweet rice balls for reunion, Suzhou drinks winter-brewed rice wine, Sichuan takes mutton soup. It is also the season for curing meat and stocking up.
Three pentads
- 1
Earthworms knot themselves and wait out the cold
- 2
Elk begin to shed their antlers
- 3
Spring water keeps running beneath the ice
What people eat now
dumpling
In the north dumplings are mandatory at midwinter, the family rolling wrappers around the board until steam fogs the windows.
tangyuan
In the south families roll tangyuan at midwinter, glutinous balls that float when done, served in sweet or savoury broth.
winter wine
Suzhou drinks winter wine at midwinter, rice wine steeped with osmanthus, sold for only a couple of weeks a year.
What people wear
The winter solstice is the longest night and the start of the coldest count. In the dry north add a windproof shell over down; in the damp south fleece under a shell works better than one thick garment. Hands and feet cool first, so gloves and thick socks do more than another jumper.