Sumptuous Winter Solstice Festival dinner InSuzhou, the Winter Solstice Festival is deemed as important as the Chinese NewYear. Stores close earlier on the eve of the Winter Solstice Festival so thatall the people can be on time for their festival dinner. Everyfamily prepares a sumptuous dinner and gives their food to relatives andfriends as gifts. Manypeople bring home braised food such as spiced beef and smoked fish, and soonjoin their families to prepare the dinner. Everydish on the table has an auspicious name. For example, the egg dumplings arecalled “Shoe-shaped Gold Ingots”, while meatballs are called “Reunion”.CangshuMutto... [MORE]     Wontons and rice glue balls preferred in Suzhou during the festival Unlikethe northerners who like to eat dumplings to celebrate the Winter SolsticeFestival, the Suzhou natives prefer wontons and rice glue balls.Wontonwas originally used for rituals. In ancient times, people would make wontons onthe Winter Solstice Festival to worship their ancestors and, after theceremony, the whole family would share the wontons. Today, many southernersstill eat wontons on the festival. TheSuzhou natives make wontons with very thin wrappers and fillings containingvarious fresh ingredients such as dried small shrimps and vegetables, and thesoup is delicious, too.Thehome-made ... [MORE]     People queue up to buy dongniangjiu TheSuzhou-style wine called “dongniangjiu”, a kind of sweet rice wine brewed withosmanthus flowers, is an essential drink for the Winter Solstice Festivalmeals. In mid-December, Suzhou natives who have waited for a year queue up infront of the wine shops to buy it with their own containers.Thewine is only on sale around the Winter Solstice Festival. It is made with fermentedsticky rice and well-selected osmanthus flowers. Withlow alcohol content, dongniangjiu is sweet and fragrant, and therefore ispopular with people of all ages.   [MORE]