Happy Winter Solstice Festival

What’s the story behind Dongzhi?

Dongzhi Festival, Dongzhi, or Dong Zhi in Chinese, is a time-honored tradition that the Winter Solstice is celebrated in China. It is the day with shortest daytime and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. The daytime in Beijing is only 9 hours and 20 minutes. The day lasts for 7 hours 49 minutes in London and 9 hours and 15 minutes in New York. After that day, the daylight hours become longer and longer, which brings people hope. So Chinese Winter Solstice Festival was once as important as Chinese New Year. A lot of celebrations and activities were held and some are still held today, for instance, northern Chinese eat dumplings and southern people commonly eat wantons or glutinous rice balls. There are also traditional activities such as worshiping the Heaven and the ancestors.

“Sending you and your loved ones a very beautiful and blessed Winter Solstice with warm rays of sun which will soon bring the season of spring.”