Wednesday 21 December 2011

Happy Winter Solstice Festival!



Hey peeps, Happy Winter Solstice Festival! Taking this opportunity, I would like to make an announcement that WE WILL BE HAVING SALES SOON! Please stay tune!



Although I am a chinese, I have always been wondering what is this festival for. So, I went to google it, and here we go (just if you are interested) :

The Winter Solstice Festival or The Extreme of Winter (Chinese and Japanese: 冬至; Korean동지VietnameseĐông chí) (PinyinDōng zhì), (RōmajiTōji), (Romaja:Dongji) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhi solar term on or around December 21 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the dongzhi solar term. The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram  (復, "Returning"). Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating ofTangyuan (湯圓, as pronounced in Mandarin PinyinTāng Yuán) or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion. In Korea, similar balls of glutinous rice (Korean새알심) (English pronunciation:Saealsim), is prepared in a traditional porridge made with sweet red bean (Korean팥죽)(English pronunciation:Patjook). Patjook was believed to have a special power and sprayed around houses on winter solstice to repel sinister spirits. This practice was based on a traditional folk tale, in which the ghost of a man that used to hate patjook comes haunting innocent villagers on the winter solstice.