Winter Solstice 冬至时节

Winter solstice falls between the periods of December 21st to December 23rd each year. On this day, the daytime is the shortest and the nighttime is the longest in the year. After Winter Solstice, the daytime will become longer and longer. Winter Solstice is not only a solar term, but also an important festival . 

冬至在每年的12月21号到12月23号之间。这一天是一年中白天最短，夜晚最长的一天。冬至后，白天就会越来越长。冬至不仅是个节气，也是很重要的节日。

Winter Solstice was the first solar term to be authorized officially in ancient China. And later it became a festival to worship heaven and ancestors. Every year at Winter Solstice emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would go to the temple o f heaven to hold a ceremony. They prayed for good weather for their crops and peace and prosperity for their country.

冬至是24节气中第一个被官方认定的节气，后来发展为祭祀上天和祖先的日子。每年冬至，清朝和明朝的皇帝都要去天坛举行仪式，他们在那里祈祷来年风调雨顺，国泰民安。

After this day, many places in China go through the coldest period, which is called ‘Shu Jiu’in Chinese. In total, there are nine periods with nine days for each. In the first and second nine days, people keep their hands in the  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 swallows are back and in the ninth nine days, the yaks start to work.

冬至后，中国大部分区域会经历严冬，我们称之为“数九”。总的来说，数九有九个九天。一九二九不出手，三九四九冰上走，五九六九沿河看柳，七九河开，八九燕来，九九加一九，犁牛遍地走。

Winter solstice is one of the most important day of the year. It is a day for family togetherness. On this day, people in the northern part of China will eat dumplings, and there is a saying of this custom. People in southern China will make and eat Tangyuan(rice dumplings), to symbolize the reunion of family.

冬至大如年，这是家族团聚的一天，在这天，中国北方会吃饺子，有“冬至到,吃水饺”这样的谚语;中国南方则会包汤圆、吃汤圆，以象征团圆。

Different people in different places eat different food at Winter Solstice.
在冬至这一天，不同的地方会吃不同的食物。

People in Wuxi have a custom of eating tuanzi, a kind of traditional Chinese food which was made of rice.  Most rural residents make tuanzi by themselves, while urban residents buy ready-made tuanzi. The tuanzi stuffing can be sweet bean paste, radish or lard.

无锡人有一种吃团子的习俗，一种用米饭制成的传统中国美食。大多数农村居民自己制作团子，城市居民会购买现成的团子。团子有豆沙、萝卜泥和猪油口味的。

In Tianjin , people eat dumplings stuffed with Chinese pumpkins. It is a common vegetable in North China. Generally, the pumpkins are bought in the summer and stored until the start of winter when they are taken out.

在天津，人们吃塞满南瓜的饺子。它是中国北方常见的蔬菜。一般来说，南瓜在夏天购买并储存到冬季开始时被取出。

A piece of red paper，a pair of the sharpest scissors, and a dab hand. This is the custom that traditionally goes on after winter Solstice. In the cold days of deep winter when it might be snowing heavily outside. People will spend the hours using bright paper to cut out beautiful illustrations to decorate windows. And they will make wishes for the upcoming New Year. 

一张红色的纸，一把锋利得剪刀，一双灵巧的手，这是冬至之后得一种古老民俗。在那些天降大雪得寒冬日子里，用红红火火得纸，剪出漂亮窗花,为即将到来得新年祈祷。