Ancient Chinese people divided 81 days after winter solstice(regarded as coldest time of the year) i** 9 parts. Many used "double-nine" diagrams to count the days to spring, either by recording the weather or writing ** stroke of a character on a daily basis.
中国古人将冬至日后的81天分为九个“数九天”，视为全年最冷的一段时间。民间有贴九九消寒图的习俗，用于计数春天来临之前的日子，有些是通过记录天气，有些则是通过每日写一笔来计算数九天。
冬至饮食文化
吃水饺 China has developed an unique festive food culture throughout the years. Eating dumplings is a common folk custom for many Chinese on the day of winter solstice, especially those living in the north.
冬至经过数千年的发展，形成了独特的节令饮食文化，吃饺子则是多数中国人冬至的习俗。在北方尤其突显。
吃坚果 When midwinter comes, vital movement begins to decline and calm down. In this period, eating an appropriate amount of nuts, such as peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts and almonds, is good for **'s body.
冬至来临后，人们**始减少**。这段时间食用适量坚果对身体非常有益，比如花生、核桃、栗子、榛子和杏仁。
吃馄饨 People in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, are accustomed to eating wo**ns in midwinter. According to legend, during the midwinter feast 2,500 years ago, the King of Wu was disgusted with all kinds of costly foods and wanted to eat something different. Then, the beauty Xishi came i** the kitchen to make "wo**ns" to honor the king's wish. He ate a lot and liked the food very much. To commemorate Xishi, the people of Suzhou made wo**ns the official food to celebrate the festival.
**苏苏州的人们习惯在冬至吃馄饨。根据历史传说，在2500年前的冬至时节，吴国国王厌倦了所有的昂贵美食，想吃些特别的口味。为迎合吴王的心愿，美女西施去厨房**了一碗馄饨。吴王很喜欢，吃了一大碗。为了纪念西施，苏州人会在冬至**馄饨庆祝节日。
吃汤圆 In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour to celebrate Winter Solstice.
在上海等地，人们吃汤圆庆祝冬至。汤圆是圆形的糯米粉团，中间塞满馅料。
吃羊肉粉汤 In Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, people call midwinter the "Ghost Festival". On that day, it is customary for people there to drink mutton and vermicelli soup and eat the dumplings in the soup. They give the midwinter soup a strange name: "brain" and share it with their nei**ors.
在宁夏银川，大家称冬至为“鬼节”。这天的习俗是吃羊肉粉汤饺子，此外他们还给这道美味起了个古怪的名字“头脑”。粉汤饺子**好后还要给邻居端上一碗。
吃年糕 During the Winter Solstice, Hangzhou residents traditionally eat rice cakes. In the past, before the approach of the winter solstice, every household would make the cakes to worship their ancestors or use as gifts for relatives and friends.
杭州居民有冬至吃年糕的传统。过去每家每户都会在冬至到来前**年糕来供奉先人或者馈赠亲友。
吃红豆糯米饭 In some regions south of the Yangtze River, the whole family gets together to have a meal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things.
在我国长**流域以南的一些地区，在冬至之夜有全家欢聚一堂共吃红豆糯米饭来驱避疫鬼的习俗。
用九层糕祭祖 Taiwan residents keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. People with the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in order of their ages. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet.
台湾地区还保存着冬至用九层糕祭祖的传统。同姓或同家族的人们在祠堂前相聚，按辈分祭祖。祭祖仪式后还会举**盛宴。