Dongzhi Festival / Winter Solstice Festival

In the midst of all the Christmas preparations I was actually reminded of another important Chinese festivity that comes before Christmas day. Its suppose to be THE most important festival to be celebrated by the Chinese. If you still have no clue by now, its actually the Dongzhi festival or "Gor Tung" (in Cantonese). Its also referred to as the Winter Solstice Festival. I for one have not celebrated winter solstice for almost 10 years I should think. For many I guess its more like a reunion dinner and a chance for the whole family to congregate and have a hearty meal. On the bright side of things, I may be having a taste of home made "tong yuen" later in the week. (Whoopee to that!). God knows how many years have I not tasted those soft glutinous balls of rice. Would be nice to rekindle my taste buds with them again.

Anyways, for those that don't know what the Winter Solstice is all about, here is some info about it that I plagiarized from wikipedia.

The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; Pinyin: dōng zhì; "The Extreme of Winter") is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the Dongzhi solar term

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fu (復, "Returning").

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan(湯圓, Cantonese jyutping: tong1 jyun2; Mandarin : Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion. Tangyuan are made of glutinuous rice flour and sometimes brightly coloured. Each family member receives at least one large Tang Yuan in addition to several small ones. The flour balls may be plain or stuffed. They are cooked in a sweet soup or savoury broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl.

In northern China, people typically eat dumplings on Dongzhi. It is said to have originated from Zhang Zhongjing in the Han Dynasty. On one cold winter day, he saw the poor suffering from chilblains on their ears. Feeling sympathetic, he ordered his apprentices to make dumplings with lamb and other ingredients, and distribute them among the poor to keep them warm, to keep their ears from getting chilblains. Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named the dish "qǜ hán jiāo ěr tāng" or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From that time on, it has been a tradition to eat dumplings on the day of Dongzhi.