Pop The Tangyuan and Celebrate Winter Solstice Festival with Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Embark on a musical escapade, put your puzzling-solving skills to the test and discover fascinating facts about the Winter Solstice Festival with your kids!

Location: Online and On-site – Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, 1 Straits Boulevard, Singapore 018906
Date: 7 Dec 2020 onwards
Hour: Varies
Fee: Free

Winter Solstice commemorates the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Regarded as an auspicious day worth celebrating, the ancient Chinese believed that as days became longer after the Winter Solstice, positive energy would return to Earth. Friends and family would gather and escape the cold by staying indoors and indulging in piping hot nourishing food, like mutton soup, dumplings, and tangyuan!

Although Singapore sports summery weather all year round, the festival is still celebrated by our Chinese community when families come together to enjoy heart-warming bowls of tangyuan.

To encourage a better appreciation of our distinctive Chinese Singaporean culture, the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre has launched a series of online programmes to highlight the customs of the Winter Solstice Festival and the traditional tangyuan dish.

From the first live on-site performance since its opening to an online interactive game, here’s a look at what you can expect!

1. “Tangyuan Pop!” Interactive Game | From 7 Dec 2020

Pop your way through levels of the mind-boggling tangyuan-inspired puzzle and uncover fun facts about the Winter Solstice Festival. Not only will you get to learn something new, but you also stand a chance to win $10 GrabFood vouchers!

You can play the Tangyuan Pop! game on Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s website, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook page.

2. Kaki Says: Winter Solstice Festival | From 11 Dec 2020

In this Winter Solstice Festival edition of Kaki Says, you will get to discover solar terms, the different phases of the winter season, as well as the origins of the tangyuan through a humorous animation video!  

You can catch the video on Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s website, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook page.

3. Keeping Traditions Alive: Time for Tangyuan | From 18 Dec 2020

Try your hand at kneading adorable oxen-shaped tangyuan this Winter Solstice Festival with Shirley from Little Bakers Lab! Impress your loved ones and celebrate over a heart-warming bowl of handmade tangyuan.

4. Winter Solstice Sonata | 20 Dec 2020

The Winter Solstice Sonata by the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra is the first live on-site performance since the Centre’s opening. You can choose to revel in an auditory feast of 12 songs celebrating the Winter Solstice either onsite or enjoy the concert from home; the performance will be live-streamed on both the SNYCO Facebook and SCCC Facebook pages.

5. SINGAPO人: Discovering Chinese Singaporean Culture | Ongoing

SINGAPO人: Discovering Chinese Singaporean Culture
On-site | Mon: 2 pm – 8 pm & Tue – Sun: 10 am – 8 pm | Free

This festival differs from other Chinese festivals and follows the Gregorian calendar because the Winter Solstice is one of the phases in the 24 solar terms, which is based on the Earth’s orbit around the sun. You can find out more about this at the SINGAPO人 exhibition.

The permanent exhibit highlights Chinese Singaporean culture through festivals, food, and languages. Learn how Chinese culture in Singapore has evolved in a way quite unlike other communities around the world.

Please note that the exhibit will be closing earlier at 6 pm on 18 Dec 2020. The Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre building and carpark will be closed for maintenance from 18 Dec, 7.30 pm to 19 Dec, 6 am.

Photo credits Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre