今天冬至，是一年中白晝最短、黑夜最長的日子，也是二十四節氣中最早被確定的一個節氣。
古人認為，冬至是個吉祥的日子，冬至過后，白天的時間一天比一天長，因而冬至又有“冬節”“賀冬”等別稱。這天，各地有著不同的習俗，北方吃餃子，揉面、搟皮、包餡，一家人齊上陣；南方人在冬至則愛吃湯圓，圓潤的湯圓象征著團圓與美滿，人們祈愿生活甜蜜、溫馨。
冬至，也意味著我們開始進入“數九”時節。數九是一種計算冬季寒冷天數的方法，從冬至這一天開始算起，每九天算一個“九”，一直數到九九八十一天。
“冬至陽生春又來”，盡管此刻大地或許被冰雪覆蓋，黑夜漫長而寒冷，但在這看似寂靜的表象之下，蘊含著無限的生機與活力。陽氣悄然萌動，春天的腳步漸漸臨近。
Today is the Winter Solstice—the day with the shortest daylight and the longest night of the year. It was also the earliest solar term established in the traditional Chinese calendar.
In ancient times, people believed that once the Winter Solstice passed, the days would start getting longer, little by little. That made it a lucky and hopeful day, which is why it was also called the "Winter Festival" or simply "Welcoming Winter".Different regions have their own traditions. In the north, people eat dumplings—kneading dough, rolling out the wrappers, and filling them up—the whole family gets involved. In the south, people enjoy tangyuan, glutinous rice balls that symbolize reunion and happiness. Folks eat them hoping for a warm, sweet year ahead.
The Winter Solstice also marks the start of the "Shu Jiu" period—a traditional way of counting the cold days of winter. Starting from today, every stretch of nine days is called a "Jiu",and people count all the way to nine "Jiu",or 81 days in total.
As an old poem says, "On winter solstice yang appears and spring returns".Even though the land is now buried under snow and the nights feel long and bitterly cold, beneath this quiet surface, new life is already stirring. The sun＇s energy is already quietly starting to grow, and the footsteps of spring are quietly drawing near.
策劃：石偉、沈田
統籌：鄧望軍
執行：萬姍姍、向希、潘曉慧
出鏡：湖南師范大學國際生 貝貝
責編：萬姍姍
一審：萬姍姍
二審：鄧望軍
三審：譚登
來源：華聲在線
