Happy Winter Solstice 2010

Its winter solstice or 冬至 (dongzhi) in Chinese. It occurs sometime in December when the sunlight is weakest & daylight is shortest.

Traditionally, its the time for a family to get together. One activity is the making & eating of tangyuan ( glutinous riceballs). The flour balls may be plain, stuffed, white or coloured. They are then cooked in a sweet or savoury broth & eaten together, ball & broth served in a bowl.

The tangyuans are also used as an offering to worship the ancestors. Many people also used these tangyuans & sticked them onto the back of doors, windows, tables & chairs to prevent the evil spirits harming the children.

We did the making of those tangyuans last evening & the children had fun. Well, my aunt is very particular about the size of each balls. If the balls doesnt meet up to her expectations, in it goes into the dustbin. When Lionel & Rachel were younger, all they do is to grab those "failed" balls & start messing around. They even tried eating raw balls. And got flour & colouring all over their face & hands. Its a funny sight. Now that they are grown, especially Lionel, he knows how to do the proper way of handling & "massaging" the balls into appropriate size. Rachel's still learning..

Happy "Dong Zhi" to everyone.