Winter Solstice (冬至) is a very important traditional festival in China. On that day, the Northern part of the world has the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. After the day, the daytime will become longer and longer.

Winter Solstice Festival started from Han Dynasty (朝代). In Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a famous doctor called Zhang Zhongjing. He was once an official in Changsha. When he returned home for his life, he saw people lived a very hard life and their ears were red with cold in the snowing winter. He was very sad and thought of a way to help them drive out the chill. He asked his servants (仆人) to get some mutton, hot pepper and medicine. Then, cut them up. After that, wrap them with flour (裹上面粉). After boiling, Zhang gave the food to the people there. By eating this kind of ear-like food, these people’s ears all became better. Later, every Winter Solstice, people cook such kind of food which was called dumplings.

Such traditions and customs for the day vary in different areas of China. In northern part of China, people usually eat dumplings and mutton to celebrate the day. However, in the southern part, tangyuan and noodles are the festival foods.

Did you see the film The Pursuit of Happiness (《当幸福来敲门》)? If not, you had better go to see it. It tells us something about love and willpower.

The film is a true story. It happened in 1981, in San Francisco of America. A black salesman Chris Gardner, the main character (人物) of the film, was out of work. Then he met a lot of other difficulties. His wife couldn’t stand the hard life and left him with their five-year-old son. Some months later, his wife returned the boy to Chris. Without work, he couldn’t rent a house. But he still needed to care for his son. The life became even harder.

Chris went to look for jobs with his boy every day. Having no living place, they slept in subway stations. Having no enough money to buy food, they two just ate a small loaf of bread. When Chris was disappointed, the boy cheered him up. When the boy felt sad and unhappy, the father told him to be strong and happy. The two loved each other and helped each other. One year later, Chris found a job as a salesman in a company (公司). In the end, Chris opened his own company and became a millionaire (百万富翁) and their American dream came true.

In 1981, the Chinese women’s volleyball team first stood on the top at the World Cup. And in 2019, it defended (保住) its World Cup crown with a record of 11 wins. The women’s volleyball team has been the pride of the Chinese people. To honor (给以荣誉) it, a film named Leap (《夺冠》) in English has been made.

Based on the volleyball team’s stories, the film shows the struggles (奋斗) and achievements (成就) of the Chinese women’s volleyball team over the past 40 years. Gong Li, a world-famous Chinese actress, plays the role of Lang Ping, who has won the world championships many times with the team and is now the team’s head coach. In order to play the role well, Gong came to the training site of the team, observing (观察) Lang’s words and deeds (举止) carefully.

Zhu Ting, captain of the Chinese women’s volleyball team, also plays a part in the film. It is the first time that she has taken part in a film shooting and she says it’s a little bit difficult. However, her playing volleyball is more difficult than being an actress. It took her at least 10 years to rise to fame (成名) in the field but playing herself in the film could be realized in a short time.

The film hit the screen in January, 2020. The Chinese women’s volleyball team not only is a competitive sports team but also shows the spirit of struggling and never giving up.