I saw a couple of my Singaporean friends posting about tangyuan and the meal they have during 冬至. Then I realised Friday 22nd Dec is 冬至 Winter Solstice Festival. It’s the celebration of the arrival of Winter.
The Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. An activity that the family do together is the making and eating of tangyuan (湯圓) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion.
In my family, my grandma will be the one making the tangyuan. She makes them in white and pink colour. She also prepares a meal that consists of chicken, fish, mushrooms (dong gu), vegetables. I always skip eating the tangyuan just because I think they are not nice..
It made me think of how I didn’t always appreciate the meaning of the festival. My grandma is the one who will keep track of the festivals and tells us to be home for dinner. The festivals are always about bringing the family and the community together. And in a way, sometimes I feel there is not much special meaning in them because we get together for dinner everyday as well. But perhaps being far away from my family, it made me appreciate the festival more.
It also makes me think and deepen more of my desire to remember the Chinese cultures and traditions and pass on the good stuffs to my children.
The Lertpalanunts 