Winter Solstice/ Kuo Tung/ 冬至

So many names but I only recognized it as tong yuen (in Cantonese), 湯圓, as we get to eat this!!! Unfortunately this time around we couldn't get the traditional plain ones with colourful rice glutinous balls. This one is with red bean paste inside. Well, what the heck, better than nothing!

Red bean paste tong yuen with red bean paste pau

Anyway, the official term is actually Dongzhi Festival, according to Wikipedia:
The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; pinyin: Dōngzhì; literally "the Arrival of Winter") is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice) on or around December 22 (according to East Asia time). In 2013, the festival falls on Sunday, December 22.
The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, "Returning").

Have a wonderful Dongzhi Festival and hope you ate truck-loads of tong yuen! Happy Winter Solstice!