How to celebrate China’s Winter Solstice Get your winter gear ready and cozy up with some dumplings; Monday marked the Winter Solstice, which sees the shortest day of the year and the longest night for much of the northern Hemisphere. youtu.be/UDQGCjNqCl4 The Winter Solstice has long been upheld as an important day in customs the world over. Many have linked the day to spiritualism, and seen it as a rebirth of the sun into the New Year. In China, the day has been acknowledged for more than 2,500 years, and throughout history Chinese people frequently held celebrations in its honor. These days the festivities are reserved more for the Lunar New Year, however there are still a number of traditions that have lasted the eons. Check out some of the ways to celebrate the Winter Solstice in Chinese styles: Eat dumplings It’s pretty easy to see why this particular tradition managed to survive. Eating dumplings is one of the more widely followed rituals around China during the Winter Solstice. In fact, legend has it that if you don’t eat dumplings on this day, you’ll have cold ears for the rest of winter. As if you needed one more reason to indulge in this tasty treat. Eat away friends! Glutinous rice balls In the south of China, it’s more common to indulge in sticky rice balls, or sweet dumplings. The stickiness of these treats is supposed to represent the close joining of the family, while they are also reflective of popular southern ingredients like the glutinous rice foods. So delicious are they thought to be, they were once offered up as sacrifices to ancestors on the day in some parts. Get healthy According to traditional Chinese belief, at this time of year the positive energy of our bodies (the Yang) begins to rise, while the negative energy (the Yin) begins to decline. This means it’s the perfect time to get your body into order by adjusting your diet and taking in more nutrition. So start eating healthy and restore you natural energies. Eat black foods Eating black food is also supposed to help balance your energies at this time of the year. So to celebrate your winter solstice, try eating black rice, black sesame and black beans. According to traditional Chinese medicine, this should help with nourishing your kidney, which is at its weakest during this time of year. For fun you could also try Australia’s vegemite on toast. Wonton Noodle soup Could this be the perfect winter meal? Dumplings sitting in steaming hot soup. This dish is commonly eaten in north China, and with temperatures falling as low as they do, it’s no surprise. Wontons come in all different varieties, but the most common are filled with pork, shrimp and green onion. Stay active As tempting as it is to simply curl up on the sofa and eat dumplings, it’s important to remain active and enjoy the winter. Since it’s the darkest time of the year, traditional Chinese practitioners advise people to participate in more activities than usual to ward off unhappiness. So get out your ski gear, join a club or meet up with friends.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 15:19:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015