Dongzhi 2022 – China’s Winter Solstice Festival
Tangyuan 湯圓
Although the Chinese have been celebrating the changing seasons for well over 2,500 years (since the famous Han Dynasty) a lot about this famous festival has changed with the modern times. Many of the old customs have drifted into obscurity, but families still take time off to relax and reconnect, sing songs and celebrate their heritage. Visitors can often see families gathered at temples giving offerings to the ancestors. Plus those with Chinese family or friends might even be able to join in on the Dongzhi parties and feasts. However, depending on where one is in the East, the festival could look a bit different.
Singaporeans celebrate by eating the traditional tangyuan, but dress it up with pandan leaves and ginger. Malaysian Chinese simply host friends and family for a meal, while Hong Kong citizens give gifts and dress up in new clothes. The Taiwanese show up everyone and steam nine-layer rice cakes in the shape of turtles, cows, ducks, etc and then eat themselves into food comas (literally, the practice is based on animal hibernation). Foodies, you may have just found Valhalla.
Happy Dongzhi, happy winter solstice festival!
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How to Celebrate the Dongzhi Festival
The Dongzhi Festival, also referred to as the Winter Solstice Festival, celebrates the season’s turning point toward the warmer, lighter days of spring. It’s a time during the depths of winter to enjoy a hearty, fortifying family meal that raises hopes for spring’s arrival.
To really get a feel for the Dongzhi Festival, you have to imagine hard, rural living during a gray Han Dynasty winter more than 2,000 years ago. Now picture a family meal at a table set with hearty, warming foods, raising the hopes for spring’s arrival. That’s the spirit of the Dongzhi Festival. The Dongzhi Festival marries the winter solstice with nature’s harmonious balance of yin and yang energy. From this point forward, dongzhi (i.e. the extreme of winter) and the negative yin qualities of darkness and cold give way to the positive yang qualities of light and warmth. In other words, take heart — spring will come.
Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival was a day to regroup with a family get together before tackling the last leg of winter. Today, with survival less of a daily concern and no time off granted, the Dongzhi Festival is celebrated mostly with a family meal full of warm, hearty foods.
Malaysian Chinese Kitchen posted a video to the playlist Malaysian Chinese Kitchen Cooking Show. 18 hrs
Kuih Ee is a dessert of glutinous rice balls in syrup eaten as a symbol of unity and togetherness during Tang Chek, weddings, birthdays, and the Chinese New Year.
How To Make Glutinous Rice Dumplings (Tang Yuan)
When it’s time to celebrate the winter solstice during the Dongzhi Festival, it’s most traditional to eat the glutinous rice dumplings known as tang yuan. These small, round dumplings symbolize family unity, an important theme during a time of year when the seasons begin to tilt toward the warmth of spring.
Though tang yuan are served with myriad fillings, the dumplings eaten during the Dongzhi Festival are typically plain. The dumplings are normally dyed bright colors and are served in a bowl of sweet ginger-infused syrup. While you can buy tang yuan at the store, they’re a snap to make at home. The dumpling dough takes just a few minutes to prepare and rolling the tang yuan balls is a fun family activity that young chefs will love. Set up around the kitchen table and put some music on in the background.
While glutinous rice dumplings are silky smooth and pleasantly chewy, they’re relatively tasteless themselves and act as a vessel for the flavor of their filling or the broth they’re served in. If you live in a colder region of the United States, I’m sure you’ll enjoy eating a bowl of tang yuan in a warming ginger syrup during the heart of winter.
