Books:

*Lin Yi’s Lantern

*1 is the Drummer

*Red is the Dragon

*Ruby’s Chinese New Year

*Dumpling Soup

*Dim Sum

*Ruby’s Wish

*Round is the Mooncake

*Illustrated Stories from China

*Lon Po Po - Red Riding Hood story from China

Crafts:

Chinese Crafts

Make a Chinese Lantern

Make a colorful Kite

Dragon dance puppets

Coloring pages

Activities:

Language/Music:

Common greetings, numbers, colors, thank you

Snacks:

Go to local Asian store and pick up some snack foods.

The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (Chinese: 冬至; pinyin: Dōngzhì; lit. 'the extreme of winter') is one of the most important Chinese and East Asian festivals celebrated by the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice) on or around December 22 (according to East Asia time).^[1][2]

The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (Chinese: 復, "Returning").

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get-togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of tangyuan (湯圓) or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion.^[4] Tangyuan are made of glutinous rice flour and are sometimes brightly colored. Each family member receives at least one large tangyuan in addition to several small ones. The flour balls are occasionally pink or green. They are cooked in a sweet soup or savory broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl. It is also often served with a mildly alcoholic unfiltered rice wine containing whole grains of glutinous rice (and often also Sweet Osmanthus flowers), called jiuniang.

In northern China, people typically eat dumplings on Dongzhi. It is said to have originated from Zhang Zhongjing in the Han Dynasty. On one cold winter day, he saw the poor suffering from chilblains on their ears. Feeling sympathetic, he ordered his apprentices to make dumplings with lamb and other ingredients, and distribute them among the poor to keep them warm, to keep their ears from getting chilblains. Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named the dish "qùhán jiāoěr tāng" (祛寒嬌耳湯) or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From that time on, it has been a tradition to eat dumplings on the day of Dongzhi.

In southern China, people eat rice cake (Chinese: 冬至團; pinyin: dōngzhìtuán), which means reunion. It is not only eaten by the family, but also shared with friends and relatives as a blessing. Mutton soup, rice cake and red bean sticky rice are also popular in South (Wikipedia.com)