BY ADELINE LIONG
HAPPY Dongzhi (Winter Solstice) Festival to all my Chinese friends and Merry Christmas to all my Christian friends.
Today, Chinese all over the world are celebrating the Dongzhi Festival with family feasts, ancestor worship and eating ‘Tangyuan’ (glutinous rice balls) for togetherness.
It is also a time to reflect on the past year.
The Dongzhi Festival is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated during the winter solstice which falls between Dec 21 and Dec 23. The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After the celebration, it is believed that days will have longer daylight hours and therefore create an increase in positive energy flowing in.
The festival was first celebrated by the Chinese people during the Zhou dynasty (1045 BCE-256 BCE) and declared an official celebration during the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE).
The Han people would take a break from work to celebrate with their families. They would honour their ancestors by burning joss paper at their ancestral shrines. The festival was also known as the ‘festival of extreme length’.
Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival was a very important holiday, comparable to the Chinese New Year.
When I was young, I learnt that it was the last Chinese festival for the year and also the last festival before the Chinese New Year. I also learnt that eating the ‘Tangyuan’ and festive food made the celebrants a year older.
In the olden days, it was fun celebrating the Dongzhi Festival. Days before the festival, neighbours would remind each other of the festival. On the day of the festival, housewives would go to the wet market early to buy chicken, fish, vegetables and other things for the feast. They would buy glutinous rice flour and make their own ‘Tangyuan’. ‘Tangyuan’ then were only white in colour and not coloured pink or green.
Nowadays, you can buy coloured glutinous rice flour paste from the wet market and roll it into balls yourself.
Long ago, my father was the cook in the house and he would come home just to cook the feast for the Dongzhi Festival. His specialty was “Pak Loh duck”, a popular and traditional Chinese braised duck dish.
The duck was slow-braised for several hours in a flavourful master stock comprising sweet and fragrant spices, soya sauce and rock sugar.
The feast would also feature fried noodles, steamed chicken and mixed vegetables.
All my family members would take time off from whatever they were doing to eat together.
Now that my parents have passed on and my family members are now scattered all over Sarawak and Malaysia, the Dongzhi Festival this year is a quiet one for me.
I will cook some food and share it with my dogs and cat. I will make ‘Tangyuan’ and eat it by myself. I think it is perfectly fine to do so. While the dish traditionally symbolises family reunion and togetherness, the round glutinous rice balls also represent personal completeness, happiness and good fortune.
The Dongzhi Festival also signifies the end of 2025.
This Thursday, Dec 25, Christians all over the world will be celebrating Christmas.
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ.
Like many of my school friends, I became a Christian Catholic while studying at St Elizabeth’s Convent School, now renamed SMK St Elizabeth, in Sibu. My maternal grandparents, who lived in Kanowit, were Catholics long before I was born.
On Christmas Day, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by going to church, praying and gathering with families for special meals and gift-giving. Special Christmas services include the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning services.
When I was in Form Four, I was a member of the Sacred Heart Church choir in Sibu; my friends (schoolgirls from St Elizabeth’s Convent School and schoolboys from Sacred Heart Secondary School) and I would sing during the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
Led by Father Marcus, a priest of the church who conducted our songs, sometimes we would go Christmas carolling at Catholic homes just before Christmas.
Young and carefree then, Christmas was really a joyful occasion.
These days, Christmas is a sombre occasion for me; I will try to go to church on Christmas Day and maybe gather with family members for special meals.
For me, Christmas is basically about the birth of God’s son, Jesus and how he came to give humans love, hope and joy.
Like the Dongzhi Festival, Christmas also signifies the end of 2025.
Personally, I am thankful for the numerous blessings that God has bestowed on me this year. 2025 has been a very good year for me because I had lots of fun exploring Sarawak and Singapore with my niece and other family members. I look forward to another great year ahead.
Once again, Happy Dongzhi Festival to all Chinese friends and Merry Christmas to all Christian friends.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at adelinel888@gmail.com.
