Tangyuan () is a traditional Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice shaped into a ball that is served in a hot broth or syrup. They come in varying sizes, anything between a marble to a ping pong ball, and are sometimes stuffed with filling. Tangyuan is traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, but because its name is a homophone for union () and symbolizes togetherness and completeness, this dish is also served at weddings, family reunions, Chinese New Year, and the Dōngzhì (winter solstice) festival. History Tangyuan is traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of a lunar new year, which is the first full moon. The festival falls each year on a day in February in the International calendar. People eat Tangyuan for good luck and hopes of filling their life with sweetness and joy. The traditional filling for Tangyuan is made from sesame, peanuts, sugar and animal fat. The Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road enabled the exchange of goods and ideas. Sesame were imported from Central Asia during the Han Dynasty (202-220BC), and peanuts entered the country from the Philippines during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The practice of eating Tangyuan has been around for over 2,000 years, and has had several names over the years. During the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, it was called Yuanxiao (derived from the Yuanxiao Festival) in northern China. This name translates to "first evening", where "yuan" means round or full, and "xiao" means night. People in southern China called the dish Tangyuan or Tangtuan. In the Hakka and Cantonese varieties of Chinese, Tangyuan is pronounced as "tong rhen" or "tong jyun". The term tangtuan (Hakka: tong ton, Cantonese: tong tun) is not commonly used. Legend has it that during Yuan Shikai's rule from 1912 to 1916, he disliked the name yuanxiao () because it sounded identical to "remove Yuan" (); thus he gave orders to change the name to Tangyuan. This new moniker directly translates to "round balls in soup" or "round dumplings in soup". Nowadays, "Tangyuan" refers to the southern style, whereas "Yuanxiao" refers to the northern style. The two are primarily differentiated by their method of preparation. Geographical differences Tangyuan originates from southern China, whereas people in the north call the dish, Yuanxiao. Like Tangyuan, Yuanxiao is a glutinous rice balled stuffed with filling that's eaten during the