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 Lot of 2 Chinese Cobalt Blue White Trinket Boxes with Kangxi Nian Zhi Marks  US $199.00
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 Beautiful Chinese Ginger Jar w mark by Da Qing Daoguang Nian Zhi US $9.99
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 Large Chinese Porcelain Obelisk Marked Hua Ping Tang Zhi US $19.95
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 Nice antique Chinese porcelain vase Ju Ren Tang Zhi MARK republic period US $185.00
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 Vintage Blue and White Chinese Porcelain Flowered Bowl Qianlong Nian Zhi Marked US $22.00
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 Vintage circa 1970 JINGDEZHEN ZHI CHINA mark Serving Plate Platter Blue Willow US $10.95
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The Dong Zhi or Winter Solstice Festival
In ancient times, the Chinese people celebrated the Winter Solstice Festival (Dong Zhi) by visiting relatives and friends, in much the same way as the Chinese Lunar New Year. There is customary feasting, and businesses will close up for the day. Glutinous floor balls known as "tang yuan" are consumed as a symbol of family unity and harmony on this day.
But just what is the winter solstice?
A solstice is an astronomical term used when describing the day of the year when the sun is furthest from the equator. Two solstices exist, consisting of one solstice during the summer, which lengthens the day to the maximum, and another solstice during the winter, which shortens the day to the minimum during the year. Timing of these vary depending on which particular hemisphere you are focusing on.
Solstices are caused by the earth being tilted the farthest from the Sun for that hemisphere. While the earth orbits the sun, it meanwhile spins on its axis. This tilt causes one hemisphere to be closer to the sun, creating summer, while the other hemisphere is tilted further way, creating winter.
The word "Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. They form the word solstitium by combining sol (which means sun) and stitium (which means stop). When the solstice occurs, it appears as if the sun is doing exactly that. It reaches almost the same height at mid day for a few days around the solstice.
The winter solstice for the northern hemisphere occurs on one of two dates: December 21st or 22nd every year and the sun will be shinning directly over the tropic of Capricorn. June 20th or 21st is the winter solstice for the southern hemisphere, which occurs when the sun is shinning directly over the tropic of Cancer.
The shortest day and longest night of the year are celebrated by the Winter Solstice. This day is considered to be the mid-point of winter by many societies on their calendars. Amazingly, in the past 3,000 years, the date of the solstice has moved only one day.
A lot of older civilizations observed the winter solstice as a period of being reborn, because the sun looks like it is regenerated and the daylight lasts longer.
This was frequently thought of as a blessed transformation with the removal of evil from the earth since the darkness is considered evil, and this was overcome by the light which is considered to be good. Currently, celebrations of light are still observed by some cultures. As well as the Chinese Dong Zhi festival, the Germanic society observes Yule and the Hindus observe Diwali, a festival of light.
Mark vs. Zhi
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Lot of 2 Chinese Cobalt Blue White Trinket Boxes with Kangxi Nian Zhi Marks US $199.00
|
Beautiful Chinese Ginger Jar w mark by Da Qing Daoguang Nian Zhi US $9.99
|
|
Large Chinese Porcelain Obelisk Marked Hua Ping Tang Zhi US $19.95
|
Nice antique Chinese porcelain vase Ju Ren Tang Zhi MARK republic period US $185.00
|
|
Vintage Blue and White Chinese Porcelain Flowered Bowl Qianlong Nian Zhi Marked US $22.00
|
Vintage circa 1970 JINGDEZHEN ZHI CHINA mark Serving Plate Platter Blue Willow US $10.95
|
| Add Ebay Auctions to your Website |
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