The winter solstice is the shortest day and the longest night, and it is a time of celebration as the seasons change and winter begins to decrease.
When Li Xiangbo thinks back to his childhood, he remembers the winter solstice, or dongzhi, as being more important than his birthday.
"It was a big holiday in my family because it was the start of the Chinese New Year holiday. My mom prepared for days in advance every year," "She once forgot my birthday, which fell on the same day that year, because she was so busy preparing for the solstice. No one in my family remembered until two days later. I even forgot about it myself," he said.
The solstice falls on Dec 21, 22 or 23－depending on which has the shortest day and longest night－and is also the coldest day of the year.
When Li, from Shantou, Guangdong province, was a child, he always had a bowl of homemade sweet rice-ball soup as soon as he woke up on solstice morning.
"Usually, sweet rice balls are made with white, glutinous rice. But on winter solstice, my mom would put a few red rice balls in the soup along with the white ones, to make it look pretty and wish everyone good luck," Li said, adding that some families would even stick rice balls on their front doors because "it might drive devils and bring good luck".
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