Celebration of midwinter

It’s that time of the year again, no it’s not Christmas nor is it Chinese New year, it’s way before that! It’s Dong zhi (冬至)! Often this festival does not seem to be a big deal for me and my family back then, it’s just a time to eat tang yuan(汤圆) for us and as for the night before Dong Zhi, the time to make the tang yuan for the family by myself -.-

I didn’t really care much about this festival until I saw a recipe that served tang yuan stuffed with water chestnut cubes in red bean soup. I think I suggested this to my mother when I was 14 and from then on, eating this ‘upgraded version’ of tang yuan became a family tradition and something I look forward to every year! It’s really wonderful, you guys should try it! :)

I have always wondered what is the purpose of celebrating Dong Zhi? Apparently it is to mark the arrival of the Winter Solstice, the summit of winter/midwinter. I also always thought that ‘至’would mean the ‘end’ or ‘arrival’, hahaha, well it turns out that it actually means ‘extreme’, so that explains why it is the middle of winter season where the nights are longer than day. Other than the obvious reason to celebrate Dong Zhi, it is also the time for family reunion and that everyone is 1 year older now in the Lunar calendar! (On the contrary to popular belief, Chinese are not 1 year older during Chinese New Year, the celebration of the arrival of spring)

Now back to the more entertaining aspect of Dong Zhi, the tang yuan!! Traditionally, they are made in white and pink (glutinous flour mixed with water) and served in a sweetsoup (made from sugar, pandan leaf/ginger and water) They symbolize family union (made in a round shape) and prosperity (the pink ones). The more fanciful versions are multi-coloured ones, stuffed ones (fillings can range from black sesame to peanuts) and savoury ones(they often become more of dumplings). Even the broths can be in the form of mung bean soup, black sesame porridge or burbur cha cha. Everyone has their own creative version of this delightful dessert!

One thing I noticed is that uni students who are studying far away from home seem to appreciate this festival more. Thanks to the magic of supermarket manufacturing, students are often seen shopping around for ready-made tang yuan or for the more diligent ones, ingredients, during this time of the year. It’s funny to think that back then, they (or probably, just me) were kids who try to escape from the daunting DUTY to 搓(knead) the tang yuan, are now still carrying on the tradition in their own way. Instead of a family reunion, friends gather together to enjoy a bowl or 2. It seems that a new ‘family’ reunion has taken place here and that is the beauty of Dong Zhi. Family or not, it makes everyone come together to celebrate union and tradition.

Here is the tang yuan I had with my friends, we bought 3 packets of 10 ready made tang yuans. Unfortunately, they were pre-packed with 2 sesame fillings and 1 peanut filling. Luckily my first bite was a peanut filling i think! Sesame wasnt as weird as thought, taste like peanut but with different kind of 'fragrance'