Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice is also called Dong Zhi. This festival is the second most important festival in Chinese calendar. It falls between December 21 and 23.
It is celebrated on the longest night of the year. Dong Zhi is when the day shortens and the sunshine weakens. People celebrate this for winter has comes. This is also time for family reunions. It is also time to wears brand new cloths and visit with family. People extange gifts and stay up very late and drink havely.
In Southern China people will eat red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and evil things. Dumplings are used for sacrifices and gifts for people. Some people make nine layer cakes for their ancestors. These cakes are usually an animal shape like a chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow, or sheep. These are made out of glutinous rice flour and they stem them in different layers of a pot.
People eat dumpling soup, rice balls, and long noodles.