A ball of a time at Winter Solstice

Fun activity: Choong (centre) and her pupils (from left) Ooi Yin Yang, five, Dheeya Kathybel Vanand, six, Teng Yi Xin, six, Harith Aqeel Khairul Akif, six, Jebat Alreshka Ezwan Sha, five, Lauren Por Eu Min, five, and Chew Zhe Wei, five, jointly preparing the glutinous rice balls for the Winter Solstice Festival at a kindergarten in George Town. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Generations ago, rolling glutinous rice balls for the Winter Solstice was a village effort in China.

Everyone took part in the manual milling of the flour, and cooking for the last feast before the heart of winter, the end of a time of plenty and the start of months of icy cold and endurance.