Winter Solstice in Japan
The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is the reversal of
the gradually lengthening nights and shortening days.
This year, it's December 22nd.
Do you have any custom of winter solstice in your country?
In Japan, it is said that you don't catch a cold if you eat pumpkin on winter solstice.
Basically, pumpkin is summer vegetable.
It grows well, exposed to the sunshine in summer.
As long as it's not cut, pumpkin is in good state of preservation for a long time.
Then, it is eaten in winter,
when a lot of cold are going around and beta-carotene-rich vegetables are in short supply.
This came from the ancestor's wisdom.
There's one more thing to do on winter solstice in Japan.
It is to take a hot citron bath, called "YUZU-YU".
Put some small citrus fruits called "YUZU" in the bath, and soak in the bath.
YUZU-YU stimulates the circulation of the blood, and warms up the body.
Therefore, it is said to prevent us from catching a cold.
These customs give us the hint to be full of vigor even in hard winter.
Let's pass the winter vigorously !!