Friends and Family Gather for Traditional Winter Solstice Dessert

TaiwanPlus News

The northern hemisphere winter solstice takes place on December 21 this year. To mark the day, people in Taiwan traditionally eat tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice balls, to stave off the winter cold.

Transcript

00:00It's winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, also known as 冬至 in Taiwan.

00:05So how do people celebrate this cold and dark day?

00:07Well, they have tangyuan, which are glutinous rice balls.

00:12The round chewy balls are filled with sweet red bean paste and other fillings.

00:17And to make sure there's enough of these popular treats to meet demand, businesses

00:21have been working day and night.

00:23We started to prepare the ingredients a month ago, and we also had a list of orders.

00:31Eating tangyuan is an important tradition in Taiwan, as it is said to bring good luck

00:37for the new year.

00:38And its round shape symbolizes unity.

00:41The dish's name, tangyuan, sounds similar to the Chinese word 团圆, which means reunion.

00:47Because winter solstice is usually the coldest day of the year, eating tangyuan symbolizes

00:53a year of happiness.

00:57The dessert comes in different flavors, including red bean, black sesame, peanut, and many more.

01:04Everyone has their favorite flavor.

01:06I like the flavor of sesame and peanut the most.

01:09Why?

01:10How does it taste?

01:11It's fragrant.

01:12The sesame is fragrant.

01:13The peanut is just right.

01:15It's chewy.

01:17Peanut tangyuan.

01:19Why?

01:20It's sweet and delicious.

01:22I ordered a fresh meat tangyuan and a sesame peanut tangyuan.

01:26I think their flavors are very chewy.

01:29The Chinese community has been celebrating the winter solstice with tangyuan for over

01:33a thousand years.

01:35The hope is that this treat will not only bring warmth to this dark day, but also bring

01:39friends and family together as the new year approaches.

01:42Justin Wu in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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