今天冬至，是一年中白昼最短、黑夜最长的日子，也是二十四节气中最早被确定的一个节气。

古人认为，冬至是个吉祥的日子，冬至过后，白天的时间一天比一天长，因而冬至又有“冬节”“贺冬”等别称。这天，各地有着不同的习俗，北方吃饺子，揉面、擀皮、包馅，一家人齐上阵；南方人在冬至则爱吃汤圆，圆润的汤圆象征着团圆与美满，人们祈愿生活甜蜜、温馨。

冬至，也意味着我们开始进入“数九”时节。数九是一种计算冬季寒冷天数的方法，从冬至这一天开始算起，每九天算一个“九”，一直数到九九八十一天。

“冬至阳生春又来”，尽管此刻大地或许被冰雪覆盖，黑夜漫长而寒冷，但在这看似寂静的表象之下，蕴含着无限的生机与活力。阳气悄然萌动，春天的脚步渐渐临近。

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.

策划：石伟、沈田

统筹：邓望军

执行：万姗姗、向希、潘晓慧

出镜：湖南师范大学国际生 贝贝

责编：刘畅畅

一审：万姗姗

二审：邓望军

三审：谭登

来源：新湖南客户端

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