today is winter solstice (冬至). you remember it is always a few days before christmas. your mum used to make pink and white tang yuan (湯圓) and cooked them in the pandan gingery syrup soup. you disliked it when you were young because you couldn't appreciate this chinese festival and its tradition. your mum will usually half forcing you to take at least a pink and a white dumplings by saying otherwise you will not grow a year older. and despite the dislike you had to drink it hot and the tang yuan is tasteless. back then you were clueless about winter and this tradition.
many years later, today you are at "home" (your brother's home) for the winter solstice for the first time and you suddenly missed this very bowl of pandan gingery soup with the pink and white dumplings. today you count it a blessing to be able to have a taste of tang yuan again and also enjoy the process of making them with your sister and nephew. going to the green patch to cut the pandan leave, pounding the ginger, rolling the dough into little dumplings. all in all a nostalgic experience and a journey down the memory lane...
happy winter solstice. 冬至快樂。greetings from the very humid and warm borneo where winter doesn't even exists.
and from the europe perspective, you know today is the longest night and tomorrow onwards the daylight is getting longer by days ^^.
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