[First published Dec. 22, 2014] "Be sure to eat dumplings today!" One of my students said as she left the classroom.
In my ignorance, I assumed that the Chinese didn't do anything to mark the winter solstice, but of course they do -- it's called Dongzhi (winter's extreme). And of course the festival is associated with a special food. In southern China, it's glutinous rice balls. Here in the north, it's dumplings.
Dumplings are associated with family togetherness. Several people have asked me if I know how to make dumplings, and no, I have never tried to make them from scratch. They've offered to teach me, as at this lovely lunch in a colleague's home, but learning how to make dumplings is low on my list of priorities, and will always be several steps below "clicking mindlessly around the internet for hours," so it's never going to rise to the top of the list. One exception would be, to make dumplings together while chatting and catching up on the news. And perhaps that's how dumplings are associated with family togetherness -- reunited relatives can chat while rolling out the little circles and filling them...
In my ignorance, I assumed that the Chinese didn't do anything to mark the winter solstice, but of course they do -- it's called Dongzhi (winter's extreme). And of course the festival is associated with a special food. In southern China, it's glutinous rice balls. Here in the north, it's dumplings.
Dumplings are associated with family togetherness. Several people have asked me if I know how to make dumplings, and no, I have never tried to make them from scratch. They've offered to teach me, as at this lovely lunch in a colleague's home, but learning how to make dumplings is low on my list of priorities, and will always be several steps below "clicking mindlessly around the internet for hours," so it's never going to rise to the top of the list. One exception would be, to make dumplings together while chatting and catching up on the news. And perhaps that's how dumplings are associated with family togetherness -- reunited relatives can chat while rolling out the little circles and filling them...
Other things we've been up to: we learned that a developer is building a hotel/condo project downtown with a Canadian theme. We went to the sales office to see if there were any Canadians there, and to see what a Canadian-themed hotel looks like. The friendly staff were all Chinese and we couldn't really talk with anyone, but we did pose with the maple leaf pillows. The hotel isn't opened yet so we'll check back later. A few days ago, we heard through the grapevine about another Canadian couple in town, and we plan to get together with some other ex-pat couples for New Year's Day.
I wanted to upload this entry last night, but the internet was too balky. Anyway, happy winter solstice, the "hump day" of all "hump days," everybody!
I wanted to upload this entry last night, but the internet was too balky. Anyway, happy winter solstice, the "hump day" of all "hump days," everybody!
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