Start of Winter is one of the 24 solar terms (节气) in China. It is the start of winter. Chinese people usually have a big meal on that day. In the north, people love eating dumplings very much. In the south, people eat chicken, duck and fish. It is said that eating well can help people keep warm on cold days.
In the old days, the Start of Winter was also a time for people to store vegetables. At the time, there were not many fresh vegetables to eat during the winter in the north. There were also no supermarkets like today. People had no place to buy fresh vegetables in winter. So, around the Start of Winter people put lots of cabbages in a cellar, a room under a house, often used for storing things. They also make fresh tomatoes into tomato sauce (酱). It is delicious if you put some salt into it and you can use it instead of vegetables when you eat noodles in winter.