冬至 dōng zhì

Yes it's dōng zhì again! "dōng zhì", that normally falls between 21st Dec and 23rd Dec, literally means "arrival of winter". Coinciding with the winter solstice, it is an occasion for the family to gather and celebrate the good year they have had. Tang Yuan, sweet soup of glutinous rice flour balls which is indispensable during this festival, is cooked and eaten to symbolize unity and harmony within the family.

dōng zhì, or winter solstice signifies the beginning of winter. The sun is at the Tropic of Capricorn and this results in the longest night of the year for those living in the northern hemisphere. The festival began as a farmer's festival to celebrate year-end harvest.

Here are some literal explanation about tang yuan. "Yuan" (literally meaning "round") signifies "yuan man" (complete) and Tang Yuan means "tuan yuan" (family reunion). Eating Tang Yuan is symbolic of family unity and family prosperity. For good luck, families prefer to have some pink tang yuan to mix with the white ones. Here are some pictures of the tang yuan my mum and I made.

Before
And after
Yummy!!!

Too bad this year we did not make chocolate tang yuan, yes you didn't hear it wrong, it's chocolate. Invented by my creative brother. Wanna try it? You can easily find tang yuan's recipe online, mostly posted in blogs. Till then, I wanna go and have another bowl of tang yuan. Bye!!