Chinatown Stories | Updated as of July 2019
Winter Solstice Festival This traditional festival is of great importance in Chinese culture and best celebrated amidst the bustling festivities of Chinatown.
The end of the year has traditionally been associated with reunions around the globe. In Singapore, Christmas gatherings and New Year countdowns are widely celebrated. However, one of the most important festivals among the Chinese community in the world also takes place around the same time – the Winter Solstice Festival or Dong Zhi (冬至), which means the ‘extreme of winter’ in mandarin.
Origin and Symbolism Winter Solstice occurs because the Earth’s axis is tilted at 23.5 degrees. As it rotates, each country may be tilted nearer or further away from the sun. Winter Solstice is the day the North Pole is tipped the furthest from the sun. This typically takes place on either 21 or 22 of December.
In Latin, solstice means ‘the sun stands still’. During the Winter Solstice, the sun is at the lowest point at noon, and will gradually continue to rise higher till the Summer Solstice in June. The Winter Solstice also has the shortest daylight hours and longest night hours in the year, and in temperate countries, it falls within the coldest season of the year as well.
For Chinese around the globe, the Winter Solstice is an extremely auspicious day. The Chinese believe that yang (阳) symbolises masculine and positive energy, and yin (阴) symbolises feminine and negative energy. At the Winter Solstice, yin is at its peak and will gradually ebb to be replaced by yang, long days and shorter nights.
This important turning point marks the beginning of a new solar term. Hence, Winter Solstice is perceived to be as significant as the Spring Festival, and is considered a mini ‘New Year’ among Chinese. Some elderly Chinese even consider this day to be everyone’s birthday.
Winter Solstice Feast Like Chinese New Year, Winter Solstice is celebrated as a day for family reunions. For the Chinese, it would entail taking time off work, setting aside their day-to-day cares, and gathering around for a meal with their families.
Cities around China celebrate this festival with different traditional foods. Common festive dishes include dumplings in Northern China, wontons in Suzhou, rice cakes in Hangzhou, and red bean and glutinous rice south of the Yangtze River.
In cities such as Shanghai and Singapore, tang yuan (汤圆) is enjoyed. These glutinous rice flour dumplings stuffed with sweet fillings such as sesame, red bean or peanut paste are served in a hot, sweet, and sometimes gingery or peanut broth. They symbolise wholeness, reunion and unity.
And while winter Solstice is not widely celebrated in Singapore, some Chinese families still gather over a home-cooked dinner. Those who do not have time to prep a lavish feast may head to Chinatown for the celebratory ambience, traditional food, and famous dessert and tang yuan stalls.
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Chinatown Stories | Updated as of July 2019
Chinatown Festivities To broaden the cultural awareness of this traditional festival, Chinatown Food Street sometimes organises family activities during the Winter Solstice. In 2015, in collaboration with the Chinatown Business Association, it offered a Tang Yuan Bar where diners could customise their own bowl with 14 different types of toppings. In 2016, a tang yuan tasting and making workshop was organised.
Heritage brands may sometimes organise Winter Solstice activities as well. In 2017, Yue Hwa Building collaborated with online family magazine Little Day Out to conduct a Winter Solstice Chinese calligraphy and craft workshop where each family learnt to write the Chinese words for family togetherness (tuan yuan, 团圆) with a calligraphy brush, as well as a family tang yuan-making game.
Other tang yuan vendors in Chinatown include Mei Heong Yuen Dessert, with outlets at 63- 67 Temple Street and #B2-32/33 Chinatown Point. An extension of the heritage Mei Heong Yuen peanuts brand founded in 1946, this 15-year-old Cantonese dessert chain is the brainchild of two sisters Clara and Connie. Bouncy sesame and peanut glutinous rice balls are served in a sweet ginger soup.
Another popular option is Zhen Jie Dessert Ah Balling at #02-113 Amoy Street Food Centre. Ah Balling (鸭母捻) is the Teochew version of tang yuan, so named because it is so smooth that it looks like mother ducks swimming in water. These Ah Ballings are presented in a peanut or ginger soup. Though this dessert stall offers a multitude of items, Ah Balling is its signature item.
The iconic dessert is also available at Dessert Station at #02-132 Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre, and Gong He Guan at 28 Upper Cross Street. Each of these smooth and chewy glutinous rice balls is stuffed with piping hot paste to symbolise the warmth and sweetness of family togetherness and reunions during the Winter Solstice Festival.
References: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/five-things-you-might-not-have-known-about- the-winter-solstice https://sg.theasianparent.com/winter-solstice-dongzhi-festival https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/winter-solstice-all-about-dongzhi-and-7- things-to-eat-in-winter http://www.chinatown.sg/index.php?fx=soc-stories-page&sid=2 http://chinatownfoodstreet.sg/savour-emotions-chinatown-food-streets-winter-solstice- festival http://chinatownfoodstreet.sg/winter-solstice https://sethlui.com/tang-yuans-in-singapore/ https://thenewageparents.com/chinatown-foodstreet-winter-solstice-dongzhi/ https://www.littledayout.com/2017/11/08/little-day-outing-to-yue-hwa-dongzhi-family- experience/
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