Happy Winter Solstice Festival

The Winter Solstice Festival, also called the Dongzhi Festival is one of the many festivals that we celebrate. When I was a kid, I look forward to this festival because I love love love tong yuen (glutinous rice ball)! I've never known why we have this dish last time, but hubby has explained to me the reason for this festival.

Found this info on this website:

Celebrated on the longest night of the year, Dong Zhi is the day when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. The coming of winter is celebrated by families and is traditionally the time when farmers and fishermen gather food in preparation for the coming cold season. It is also a time for family reunions. This celebration can be traced to the Chinese belief in yin and yang, which represent balance and harmony in life. It is believed that the yin qualities of darkness and cold are at their most powerful at this time, but it is also the turning point, giving way to the light and warmth of yang. For this reason, the Dong Zhi Festival is a time for optimism. Dong Zhi is celebrated in style. The longest night of the year is a time to put on brand new clothes, visit family with gifts and to laugh and drink deep into the long night.

Normally, my mum will make the tong yuen for me, but this year, I'll be having this with my Mother-in-law (MIL). We had the dinner today when the actual day is tomorrow. They don't practice having dinner together, but at least everyone is back for dinner... It's just that we don't eat together on the dining table.

Tong Yuen for the Winter Solstice Festival

I love this celebration... The idea of every member of the family gather for a reunion dinner. I reckon because of this, the traffic in KL will be horrible tomorrow.