Kiatisak Chua, Kathleen Ann Kili and Edmund Khoo | The Star/ANN | Sat Dec 22 2012
Tan said his family members prepared the tang yuen at home instead of buying it.
George Town, December 22, 2012
For the Tans, the focus is on family every Winter Solstice Festival.
"The tang yuen balls are round in shape, which signifies family togetherness," said businessman Tan Min Khoon, 46, of the glutinous balls boiled in syrup flavoured with ginger.
And so, the Tans got together again to savour the tang yuen at their home in Air Itam.
"It is very important to keep this tradition and culture alive, especially since the younger generation is becoming ignorant of such festivals," said Tan.
Tan's mother Tiew Sooi Chooi, 71, said some people would have forgotten about the festival had they not read about it in the newspapers.
"Furthermore, many young people do not know how to make the tang yuen," she said.
Tan said his family members prepared the tang yuen at home instead of buying it. "The ones from the shops may contain a lot of colouring," he said.
"We, at home, use natural ingre-dients such as sweet potatoes and pandan leaves for the colour and a better taste," he said.
Tan said he had persuaded his daughters, aged 10 and 13, to make the tang yuen since they were five years old.
In JOHOR BARU, student Chan Xin Sian, 18, said the festival was a time to enhance family togetherness.
Chan, who is doing her A-Levels at a private college in Kuala Lum-pur, said she always looked forward to spending time with her family and relatives.
"My relatives would all come to my house to have dinner," she said.
Chan said she would always help her mother and grandmother make tang yuen. She picked up the technique of making the delicacy from her mother when she was 11 years old.
Another college student, Wong Hui Hui, 21, said the Winter Sols-tice Festival dinner had helped forge a much closer relationship with her family.
"I hardly see my relatives as they are sometimes busy with work or other commitments," she said.
"So it's nice to catch up with them while enjoying a home-cooked meal."
The festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring, which usually falls on Dec 21 or Dec 22.
Tan said his family members prepared the tang yuen at home instead of buying it.
George Town, December 22, 2012
For the Tans, the focus is on family every Winter Solstice Festival.
"The tang yuen balls are round in shape, which signifies family togetherness," said businessman Tan Min Khoon, 46, of the glutinous balls boiled in syrup flavoured with ginger.
And so, the Tans got together again to savour the tang yuen at their home in Air Itam.
"It is very important to keep this tradition and culture alive, especially since the younger generation is becoming ignorant of such festivals," said Tan.
Tan's mother Tiew Sooi Chooi, 71, said some people would have forgotten about the festival had they not read about it in the newspapers.
"Furthermore, many young people do not know how to make the tang yuen," she said.
Tan said his family members prepared the tang yuen at home instead of buying it. "The ones from the shops may contain a lot of colouring," he said.
"We, at home, use natural ingre-dients such as sweet potatoes and pandan leaves for the colour and a better taste," he said.
Tan said he had persuaded his daughters, aged 10 and 13, to make the tang yuen since they were five years old.
In JOHOR BARU, student Chan Xin Sian, 18, said the festival was a time to enhance family togetherness.
Chan, who is doing her A-Levels at a private college in Kuala Lum-pur, said she always looked forward to spending time with her family and relatives.
"My relatives would all come to my house to have dinner," she said.
Chan said she would always help her mother and grandmother make tang yuen. She picked up the technique of making the delicacy from her mother when she was 11 years old.
Another college student, Wong Hui Hui, 21, said the Winter Sols-tice Festival dinner had helped forge a much closer relationship with her family.
"I hardly see my relatives as they are sometimes busy with work or other commitments," she said.
"So it's nice to catch up with them while enjoying a home-cooked meal."
The festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring, which usually falls on Dec 21 or Dec 22.
