Since ancient times, Dong Jie has traditionally come fifteen days after the Great Snow and is the transition between winter and spring. This makes it the most important of the twenty-four seasonal divisions in the year.
The ancients believed that, when the winter solstice arrived, spring was just around the corner. The Fujianese and Taiwanese see the solstice as a time for family reunion, when they offer sacrifices to the ancestors; any person who does not return home for the festival is thought to have forgotten their ancestors.
Glutinous rice is used to make Winter Solstice Dumplings and in order the distinguish the solstice from the lunar new year (ci sui, to bid the old year farewell), it is called tian sui or ya sui.
Customs in different parts of China may vary but they are more or less the same overall. The winter solstice dumplings are made into animal shapes such as cats, tigers, dogs or rabbits to please the children. Before eating the dumplings, one is placed behind doors, tables, cabins, windows, lights and beds; this is seen as sending off the Kitchen God and is known as ‘killing time’, which is necessary before the dumplings can be baked.
If a woman is pregnant and the dumpling expands, it is said it will be a boy; if not, it will be a girl. It is also a good omen if the people who eat the dumplings are of an even number. At the end, if there is a dumpling left, this is a message to single people that they can hope for good things; if there are two left, married people can expect the same.
Sacrifices to the gods and ancestors are sometimes made with fruit and animals, and washing rice with water before putting it in the sun to prepare it for being put away is a ritual known as ‘putting the winter rice in sun’, and the result is a porridge mixture which is believed to help people who are likely to fall ill.
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