The Dongzhi Festival is the Winter Solstice. It’s celebrated in Taiwan by cooking and eating Tangyuan which is small balls made of glutinous rice.
One of the festival’s traditions in Taiwan is eating Tangyuan which are small balls made of glutinous rice. They are considered to be a symbol of reunion because their name is a homophone for the Chinese word for “union”. Tangyan is typically served as a dessert, they can be plain or stuffed with sesame, sweet bean paste, tangerine peel, etc.
On this day, you may see people use festive food outside many companies, schools, and homes as an offering to their deceased ancestors. The Taiwanese also have a unique custom of making nine-layer animal-shaped cakes as a ceremonial sacrifice to honor their ancestors.
🗓️ Dōngzhì Festival is an observed holiday, all schools and businesses should still be running as usual. There may be events and celebrational activities organized by various schools and companies across Taiwan.
