Winter Solstice · FFET10317
Eating tangyuan at the winter solstice
On the winter solstice, many places in the south eat rice-flour balls for reunion; Taiwan calls them dongjie yuan.
Longest shadow, shortest day: the sun begins its return
Eating tangyuan at the winter solstice is a custom in many places in the south, where the round rice-flour balls symbolize reunion. In Taiwan, they are called dongjie yuan and offered to ancestors before being eaten, with a saying that eating them adds 1 year to one's age. The Qing work Qing jia lu describes solstice balls, but only a 2023 book excerpt quoting it was available here; the original was not accessed, so no start date for the custom is given.
What
On the winter solstice, many places in the south eat tangyuan, round rice-flour balls symbolizing reunion. Tangyuan are also eaten at the Lantern Festival as a food of reunion.1,2
When
On the winter solstice, Taiwan's dongjie yuan are offered to ancestors before being eaten. Guangzhou has a saying that the solstice is bigger than New Year; customs documented in 2017 include ancestor offerings, a family dinner and tangyuan that day.1,3
Where
Many places in the south eat tangyuan at the solstice: coastal balls come in 2 colors, red and white, while Taiwan calls them dongjie yuan. The custom is also documented in Guangzhou (2017) and Shanghai (December 2024). Regional names occur in Wu and Hakka; Hong Kong and Taiwan have yuanzai soup, and ethnic Chinese in Thailand also use tangyuan at the solstice.1,2,3,5
How
Solstice balls are made from ground rice with sweet or savory fillings and used for offerings and gifts. This account from the Qing work Qing jia lu (Gu Lu, volume 11) is available here only through a 2023 book excerpt; the original was not accessed, so it remains a lead needing confirmation.4
Why
Round rice-flour balls symbolize reunion in the south; the coast's 2 colors, red and white, symbolize yin and yang. In Taiwan, a saying holds that eating dongjie yuan adds 1 year to one's age. Guangzhou's tangyuan custom, documented in 2017, likewise expresses family togetherness.1,3
Impact and influence
Guangzhou's solstice customs documented in 2017 include ancestor offerings, a family meal and tangyuan, while older practices such as feeding rice cakes to oxen and sticking balls around the house have faded. Eating tangyuan at the solstice is also documented in Shanghai in 2024.3,5
No tale about this food has been found.