Kung Fu Panda Holiday. Courtesy/Zhen Huang

By ZHEN HUANG
Los Alamos

In Chinese culture, Winter Solstice (冬至) is one of the most celebrated festivals. For Chinese people, winter solstice also has its philosophical significance related to the balance and harmony of “yin” (阴, for negative energy) and “yang” (阳, for positive energy in the cosmos.

In ancient China, our ancestors considered the winter solstice as the first day of a new year since they observed after this day there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore more and more renewed positive energy.

Interestingly, when Christmas was initially brought to China during those earlier years, Chinese people welcomed it and called it “Westerner’s Winter Solstice” (西洋冬至) because winter solstice usually falls between Dec. 21 to Dec. 23, right before Christmas. Likewise, can we call the Winter Solstice Festival the “Chinese Christmas” (华夏圣诞)?

If you have seen the animation film Kung Fu Panda Holiday, in which the Holiday is actually the winter solstice, you may discover why Chinese people, as well as other Asians, celebrate this important holiday, what we value the most among so many things in the world, and how we can achieve the “balance and harmony” living in this greatly diversified and oftentimes conflicts bearing society…

Happy Winter Solstice Festival and Merry “Chinese Christmas”!