Rose, Rose, I Love You

A single rose can be my garden, a single friend my world.... Leo Buscaglia

If you enjoy the fragrance of a rose, you must accept the thorns which it bears ..... Isaac Hayes

But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold ..... Oliver Wendell Holmes

But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose ..... Anne Bronte

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet ..... William Shakespeare

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June" by Robert Burns.

(Thank you for this beautiful quote, Babara of Gardening in Mannheim, Germany).

Today December 22nd, 2009 is mid-winter solstice.

It is a day when I celebrate the Dong Zhi Festival by offering prayers and making glutinous rice balls or Tang Yuan. The whole family will gather together to eat tang yuan. When I was little, grandma used to tell me that this was an important day, more important than Chinese New Year, for after this day, I shall get older by one year. She had many fond memories of celebrating Dong Zhi with her family members in Fusan, China. Grandpa will tell his story about Kwantung (Canton) and Mum would tell hers about Swatow, Teochew style. An uncle from Hong Kong and another aunt in Thailand will celebrate theirs a little bit differently. I used to wonder how long more will this festival continue to be celebrated.

Eventhough we are living in the sunny tropics where there are no winters but endless summers, many of us still hold on to this tradition. When I was younger, it was quite difficult for me to relate to the special significance of this festival. Now that I have virtually travelled round the world watching the seasons change in your gardens and homes, I begin to appreciate what it means even more. I guess Dong Zhi will continue to be celebrated for as long as there are winters and the 4 seasons on Earth.

The Dong Zhi (Chinese: 冬至) or Winter Solstice Festival (Extreme of Winter) is an important festival celebrated by Chinese all over the world. This day which usually falls between December 21 - 23 is a day signifying the "Extreme of Winter" when sunshine is at its weakest and daylight shortest in the Northern Hemisphere.The Chinese believe that although the yin qualities of darkness and cold are at their most powerful at the time of Dong Zhi, it is also a turning point, heralding the dawning of the light and warmth of yang.

In olden days of China, winter was a cold and because medical science was not so advanced then, many people froze to death. On this day, offices and businesses would be closed. Family members return home and gather together to eat tang yuan. Dong Zhi is thanksgiving, Chinese style. It is the last festival of the year. Coinciding with the winter solstice, it is a time for the entire family to get together to celebrate the past good year. Glutinous rice balls known as Tang Yuan (汤圆) are cooked and eaten to signify unity and harmony within the family.

Tang Yuan of various colours in sweet syrup (brown sugar or 'gula Melaka' on the left). I like the syrup with pandan and ginger flavour. We make the pink/red ones to bring good luck. The green ones are usually pandan flavoured while purple ones have yam. Orange looks like gold. This is also classified as 'tong shui' or sweet dessert drinks. In Malaysia it is available throughout the year.

Are you celebrating the Winter Solstice too?

This post is dedicated to Deb of Dragonfly Treasure blog from Newman, California, USA my first commenter for my previous post, The Secret Garden of 1-Utama. She has a beautiful mozaic of snowman pictures in her latest post.

Acknowledgement: The pictures are taken at The Secret Garden of 1-Utama.