Dongzhi Festival

About Dongzhi Festival

Dongzhi, "arrival of winter", is the winter solstice, around 21 or 22 December. In Chinese thinking this is the turning point when the yin is at its peak and the yang starts to return, so days grow longer. The ancient court held a sacrifice to Heaven at the solstice. Families gather for a meal. In the south, they eat tangyuan, glutinous rice balls, and in the north, jiaozi dumplings, which are said to protect the ears from the winter cold. In Taiwan and parts of Fujian, there are ancestral offerings and in Hong Kong, relatives dine together on a feast of roast meats. In Korea it is Dongji, when patjuk, red bean porridge, is eaten, and in Japan Toji, when yuzu baths and kabocha squash are used.

Dongzhi Festival dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

What is eaten

• tangyuan
• jiaozi
• patjuk
• kabocha

More marked on Dongzhi Festival

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