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Love spread all over the Guangzhou City University of Technology! On December 21, an activity, “Offeringwarmth with tangyuan in the winter solstice” was held in the campus. Tangyuan was delivered at the library square and the entrance of the Administrative Building for free to celebrate the traditional festival.

 “Happy winter solstice! Have a bowl of Tangyuan”

Crystal-like and roundedtangyuan satisfies your mouth, 

which makes your stomach warm and bring yousweetness.

Sesame or peanut flavor?

Take a bite, enjoy its sweetness and softness!

A bowl of hot tangyuan showsGCUT’s love and blessing for its teachers and students, sharing warmtharoundthe campus.

Winter solstice is also called “Dongzhi Festival”, which is the last term of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms. Since ancient times, the significance of the winter solstice in China can be seen as equal with that of the Spring Festival. Different regions have different delicacies on the winter solstice.

China has developed an unique food culture on different festivals throughout the years. Eating dumplings is a common custom for many Chinese on the winter solstice, especially for those living in north China.

When midwinter comes, vital movement begins to decline and calm down. During this period, eating an appropriate amount of nuts, such as peanuts, walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts and almonds, will be good for one's health.

People living in Suzhou, Jiangsu province are accustomed to eating wontons in midwinter. According to legend, dating back to the midwinter feast 2,500 years ago, king of the Wu Kingdom was tired of all kinds of costly foods and wanted to eat something different. Therefore, the beauty Xishi made wontons for him.Consequently,the king ate a lot and liked the food very much. To commemorate Xishi, people in Suzhou made wontons an official food to celebrate the festival.

In places such as Shanghai, people eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour, to celebrate Winter Solstice.

In Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, people call midwinter the “Ghost Festival”. On that day, it is customary for people there to drink mutton and vermicelli soup and eat the dumplings in the soup. They give the midwinter soup a strange name,“brain”, and share it with their neighbors.

For Hangzhou residents, theytraditionally eat rice cakes. In the past, before the approaching of the winter solstice, every household would make the cakes to worship their ancestors or use as gifts for relatives and friends.

In some regions such as the south of the Yangtze River, the whole family gets together to have a meal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things.

Taiwan residents keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. People with the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in order of their ages. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet.

  Sources: CBS News, China Daily & cn.chinaculture.org