Happy Dongzhi Festival

by Ding
(Author of GCN)

Wednesday, December 22, 2010. 01:12am

Happy Dongzhi 冬至 festival to you!

Today is Dongzhi day. An important date in Chinese solar calendar. It is one of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese solar calendar.

See 24 Chinese Solar Terms.

This is the day where Chinese families usually get together. Have reunion dinner. Eat tangyuan 汤圆 or balls of glutinous rice. It symbolizes reunion.

I asked my wife yesterday, so why do we celebrate Dongzhi? She said, to eat tangyuan. Haha!

It is certainly not as simple as that.

Why don't Chinese families get together on some of the other 24 solar terms?

Unknown to many, Dongzhi actually marks the beginning of a year. In the trinity concept of Heaven-Earth-Human, Dongzhi is the beginning of Earth year. Lichun is the beginning of Human year, the Chinese New Year.

The ancient Daoist astrologers have known that this is the coldest time of the year. The most yin time. (Summer solstice is the most yang time.) This is where the 12-month cycle begins from zero.

See the picture above. Dongzhi is winter solstice day and it is the mid of the Rat month. The Rat zodiac animal is the first in place among the 12 animals. It marks the beginning of a cycle. The new day of a 12-month cycle. Like the start of a new year.

Read more on Wikipedia: Dongzhi Festival

Well, now you know some background about Dongzhi. You can tell your family when you get together with them.

In Chinese naming, some parents called their kids 冬冬 Dongdong. Maybe they are born around this period of the year. Just glad that they are not Dingdong. Haha...

Happy Dongzhi festival!

And Merry Christmas too. Oh... and soon Happy New Year 2011!