What do Cantonese people eat during the winter solstice? Why do Cantonese people eat glutinous rice balls and drink duck soup during the winter solstice?

The Winter Solstice is the most important of the 24 solar terms. It announces the arrival of winter, but in different regions, the Winter Solstice has different meanings. In Guangdong, China, there is a saying that "the Winter Solstice is as important as the New Year". People there attach great importance to the Winter Solstice, which is one of the local traditional festivals. Every year when the Winter Solstice comes, Guangdong people will prepare a variety of special foods and gather with relatives and friends to enjoy the joy brought by the festival. So what do Guangdong people eat during the Winter Solstice?

What do Cantonese people eat during the winter solstice?

1. Glutinous Rice Balls

Guangdong people eat glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice, because eating glutinous rice balls on the winter solstice is one of the traditional Chinese customs, and it is particularly popular in Guangdong Province. In Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, there is a unique custom, that is, at noon on the winter solstice, families will get together to make glutinous rice balls by hand and eat them together after they are made, which means reunion.

2. Drink duck soup

Guangdong people have the habit of drinking duck soup on the day of Winter Solstice, because the Winter Solstice heralds the arrival of the health-preserving season and is the most suitable time for body tonic. If you drink a bowl of warm duck soup on the Winter Solstice, it can nourish yin and moisten dryness, calm the heat in the body, and allow the body to absorb rich nutrients, enhance physical fitness and prevent upper respiratory tract infections.

3. Eating dog meat

In some areas of Guangdong, there is a custom of eating dog meat during the Winter Solstice. It is said that as early as the Han Dynasty in ancient China, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, liked to eat dog meat. The custom of Guangdong people eating dog meat during the Winter Solstice also dates back to that time. Now Guangdong people like to eat hot pot with dog meat on the Winter Solstice.

4. Eat preserved meat

It is a traditional custom for Guangdong people to eat cured meat on the Winter Solstice. Every year on the Winter Solstice, Guangdong people have the custom of eating meat on the Winter Solstice. The most favorite meat products of Guangdong people are cured meat, sausage, cured duck, ham and other processed meat ingredients. It is said that on the Winter Solstice, Guangdong people will prepare a table of fish and meat after offering sacrifices to their ancestors, and these fish and meat are mainly cured meat and sausage. They hope to pray for good luck and good fortune in the coming year through this behavior.