We are not sure why this custom evolved, perhaps it had something to do with the importance of keeping one's feet warm in winter. Food is an important part of all Chinese festivals. But the kinds of food people eat during the Winter Solstice vary from place to place. In Nothern China, many people eat mutton and dog meat. These are hot Yang foods, bringing warmth to the body and dispelling the cold of Yin.
Noodles are popular in many areas.
For from now on,daytime starts to get longer and we say every day gets longer by the length of a thread. So the noodles specially made for the festival are calledLong Thread Noodles. In the old days, dumplings were often eaten in menory of Doctor Zhang Zhongjing. Doctor Zhang was not only a brilliant doctor, able to cure all sorts of diseases, be was also very kind to the poor. One year the winter was so cold that many people in Zhang Zhongjing's home town of Nanyang,in today's Henan Province,suffered from very painful chilblains.