Thursday, December 22, 2005
Today is Dong Zhi Festival
Today is Dong Zhi or Winter Solstice for the northern hemisphere. It is the day the sun is furthest south from China. . In accordance with Chinese culture and traditions, Chinese around the world celebrate the Dong Zhi festival, marking “the arrival of winter”. (Dong Zhi in Chinese Mandarin or Tang Chek in Chinese Fujian dialect). In the Chinese calendar, the Dong Zhi festival falls six weeks before the Chinese New Year.
The festival involves the making of glutinous rice ball of various colours boiled in syrup called "tang yuan" or "Koay Ee". The name of the traditional sweet dessert carries much meaning for the Chinese as it sounds like tuan yuan (“Yuan” means “round” or “ circle”, so “tuan yuan” means reunion). It is a time for members of each family to remind themselves that they were a family unit and hence an occasion for family reunion and preparation for the next exciting New Year.
The festival involves the making of glutinous rice ball of various colours boiled in syrup called "tang yuan" or "Koay Ee". The name of the traditional sweet dessert carries much meaning for the Chinese as it sounds like tuan yuan (“Yuan” means “round” or “ circle”, so “tuan yuan” means reunion). It is a time for members of each family to remind themselves that they were a family unit and hence an occasion for family reunion and preparation for the next exciting New Year.
