The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Start of Winter, the 19th solar term of the year, begins this year on Nov 8 and ends on Nov 21.
Start of Winter is the first solar term of winter, which means winter is coming and crops harvested in autumn should be stored up.
Here are some things you should know about Start of Winter.
(1)Beginning of winter or not
In ancient times, the Chinese people took the Start of Winter to be the beginning of the winter. However in fact, the Start of Winter is not the beginning of winter in terms of meteorology. The climate every year is different, so the beginning of winter could be quite different. And with the vast territory of China, winter of every area doesn’t begin at the same time.
(2)Eating dumplings
A legend has it that at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220), "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing saved many people in Henan province from a typhoid epidemic and their ears' from being frostbitten around Start of Winter.
He cooked mutton, hot peppers and herbs to dispel the cold and increase body heat. He wrapped these ingredients into a dough skin and made them into an ear shape. Since then, people have learned to make the food which became known as "dumpling". Today there is still a saying that goes "Eat dumplings on Start of Winter Day, or your ears will be frostbitten".
(3)Nourishing the winter
On the first day of Start of Winter, there is a custom, "nourishing the winter", in Southeast China in places. To prepare for the oncoming cold winter, people there like to eat high-calorie food such as chicken, duck, beef, mutton, and fish, which are usually stewed with the four Chinese medicines: angelica, ligusticum wallichii, Chinese herbaceous peony and rehmannia glutinosa libosch, to enhance the effectiveness of the nourishment.
《关于立冬》
中国传统二十四节气的第19个节气是立冬，今年的立冬从11月8日开始，11月21日结束。
立冬是冬季的第一个节气，意味着冬天来临，秋天收获的粮食应该储存起来了。
下面一起来了解关于立冬的几个小常识。
（1）立冬未必标志着冬季的开始
在古代，中国人认为立冬节气代表着冬季的开始。事实上，从气象学上看，立冬这天不一定就是冬季的开始。每年的气候都不一样，因此冬季开始的时间也大不相同。中国的国土这么辽阔，各个地区的冬季也不是在同一时间来临。
（2）吃饺子
传说在东汉末年（公元25-220年），“医圣”张仲景在河南治好了很多伤寒病人，还让他们的耳朵在立冬之际免于生冻疮。
张仲景的方法是用羊肉、辣椒和驱寒暖身的药草一起炖煮，煮熟后用面皮包成耳朵形状。从那以后，人们学会了制作这种食物，也就是后来俗称的“饺子”。时至今日仍然有“立冬不端饺子碗，冻掉耳朵没人管”的说法。
（3）立冬补冬
在立冬这天，中国东南部的一些地区，都有“补冬”习俗。为了应对即将到来的寒冬，那里的人会吃鸡、鸭、牛、羊、鱼肉这样的高热量食物，而且通常都会加入当归、川芎、白芍、熟地黄这四味中药炖成“四物汤”来提高滋补效果。