The Winter Solstice brings the shortest day and the longest night of the year. From then on the days begin to lengthen, which ancient Chinese described as "the first stirring of yang." An old saying holds that "the Winter Solstice is as big as New Year," and in many places the day carries almost as much weight as the Spring Festival.
An ancient solar term, a major festival
The solstice was one of the first of the twenty-four solar terms to be fixed. Early astronomers measured the sun's shadow with a gnomon, and the day of the longest shadow marked the solstice. In 2016 the Twenty-Four Solar Terms were inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 1.
The day became an important festival early on. In the Song dynasty, Meng Yuanlao's Dreams of Splendour of the Eastern Capital says the people of Kaifeng held the solstice dearest of all festivals. Even poor households saved and borrowed so that on this day they could put on new clothes, prepare a good meal and make offerings to their ancestors 2. The Tang poet Du Fu wrote:
Heaven's seasons and human affairs press on day by day; at the solstice yang is born, and spring returns.
— Du Fu, "Minor Solstice"
In the coldest days of the year, people were already looking towards spring. That may be the most moving thing about the solstice.
North and south, a different solstice table
What people eat on the solstice depends on where they live 3. In the north families make dumplings, and a folk rhyme warns that anyone who skips them will have their ears frozen off. In the Yangtze delta people eat sweet rice balls, and in Suzhou families drink osmanthus-scented "winter-brewed wine" on solstice night.
In Sichuan, queues form outside lamb-soup restaurants on the solstice. A pot of milky-white lamb broth comes with coriander, spring onion and a dipping sauce, and the family gathers round in a cloud of steam. Mianzhu is no exception: outside, the damp cold of a Longmen Mountains winter; inside, hot soup and laughter.
A cup of togetherness
For distillers, winter is also the quietest season inside the pits. In the cold, fermenting grain rests in the yellow-mud pits under a cap of red grain and works slowly, without haste. Qifu's spirit is made pit by pit at this steady pace.
The name Qifu means "blessings, all together," which suits a solstice reunion well. With the family around a pot of lamb soup, open a bottle of Bainian Qifu · 8 and pour a small cup for the eldest, and its pit and grain aromas drift up through the steam. For a few old friends meeting up, a bottle of Jin Qifu brings its own warmth. On the solstice, what matters is less how much you drink than the words that go with it: "another year, and everyone is well."
Winter roads can be treacherous, so never drink and drive. Pour small, sip slowly and drink responsibly, and let the warmth of the reunion carry you through to the New Year.
