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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 (Cantonese jyutping:
tong1 jyun2; Mandarin Pinyin: Tang 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
(patches of red, swollen and itchy skin, often caused by cold weather and sometimes
exacerbated by poor circulation) 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 "qu hán
jiao er tang" or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From that time on,
it has been a tradition to eat dumplings on the day of Dongzhi. |
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As early as 2,500 years ago, around the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), Chinese people determined the winter solstice by observing movements of the sun with sundials. It falls on December 22 or 23. 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 f‘ ("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 (Mandarin Pinyin: Tang Yu‘n) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion. Tangyuan are made of glutinuous rice flour and sometimes brightly coloured. Every one in the family receives at least one large Tang Yuan and 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. |
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In northern China, people typically eat dumplings on dongzhi. It is said to have originated from Zhang Zhongjing of 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, distributed them among the poor to keep them warm. Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named it "qu h‘n jiao er tang" or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From then on it became a tradition passed down to eat dumplings on the day of dongzhi to keep the ears from getting chilblains.
Celebrated on the longest night of the year, Dong Zhi is the day when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. The sun is at the Tropic of Capricorn & this results in the longest night of the year for those living in the northern hemisphere. Dong Zhi has its origins in the farmer's celebrations of the year-end harvest. The ancient Chinese farmers divided the year into 24 "joints" of two weeks, and as a result, each Dong Zhi occurs six weeks before the Chinese NewYear. Dongzhi usually falls between December 21 and 23. Dong Zhi was in fact the antecedent of Chinese New Year, as some of theearlier emperors celebrated the new year at Dong Zhi. This lasted till Emperor Han Wu Di decided to fix the Lunar New Year at the beginning of each year.Even today, some Chinese ‘traditionalists‘ insist that everyone turns a year older after Dong Zhi. The celebration of Dong Zhi is also deeply rooted in the Chinese belief of yin and yang, which represent balance and harmony in life. The Chinese believe that although the yin qualities of darkness and cold are at their most powerful at the time of Dong Zhi, it is also a turning point, heralding the dawning of the light and warmth of yang. Because of this, Dong Zhi is considered a time of optimism. |
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In the Chinese idea of Yin and Yang, Yin symbolizes feminine, negative and dark qualities of the universe, and yang masculine, positive and fiery qualities, and when something goes to one extreme it then goes to the opposite. Winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is the shortest day and longest night. After it, days become longer, which ancient Chinese thought meant yang qualities would become stronger, so should be celebrated. The winter solstice became a festival during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and thrived in the Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279). Han officials organized celebrations and it was recognized as a holiday; frontier fortresses closed and business and travel stopped. In the Tang and Song dynasties, it was a day to make offerings to heaven and people‘s ancestors, something both emperors and common people did. According to records from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the day was regarded to be as important as Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year).
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