Considering today is the second most important holiday in the Chinese calendar, would there be any wgs of quality in walkups, saunas, hgs, etc today?  Or would most of them take the night off to spend time with their families?  

If there are any working today, would they be expecting an extra 'tip' from me?  Any idea?

it's not the 2nd most important holiday.  Probably ranked 6th or 7th somewhere behind the Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn, Oct. 1 (National Day), Qing Ming, Labor Day (May 1), etc.  I had no clue today was even Dongzhi until you mentioned it.  Definitely not a public holiday.

bro, how are HGs going to take the day off to spend w/ their families?  most of them are from out of town in the first place.  as for the others, i doubt very much they're taking the day off and wouldn't be expecting anything special out of you just b/c it's dongzhi.  it's just another day at the office so to speak.

for those that may not be exposed to chinese culture.  What exactly is Dong Zhi and what does it mean?

The chinese believe that Dong Zhi is actually a bigger and more important date than Chinese New Yrs.
Today is a day for family and relatives to gather, for a meal. Traditionally the families will make or have Tangyuen (a ball dessert) to symbolise reunion. Some other families will have dumplings which symbolises the same thing.

I thought that's what Chinese New Year's Eve was for.  Something called a Tuun Lien Fahn.  I'm learning more than I expected in this forum lol.  Mongering and Chinese culture!  

dongzhi just refers to the winter solstice; and yes, some sort of family gathering for a meal is usually the tradition.  i question whether or not it's actually considered more important than CNY.  i think it prob depends on the family

Dong Zhi is basically winter solstice in chinese

Its importance is noted in the Chinese cultural aspect of it, not if it is a public holiday or not.  Generally I rate a holiday is important, culturally or not, based on whether I have to let the local staff off early (about 4pm) or not.  

Like emorie said its importance as a family gathering holiday makes it very important in HK.  I would be crucified by local staff if I didnt let them leave early so they can get home in time to do some food shopping and prepare a proper home cooked family for the whole family.  

And as banger clarified, it does depend on the family if it is celebrated or not.  I find the Southern Chinese to be more traditional with regards to these types of Chinese traditions, so maybe indeed I should not be so worried with choices tonight.  Most of the wgs are from the mainland where alot of old tradiitions were killed off in the Cultural Revolution.  

So thanks for everyone's advice.

from a mongering standpoint, the only concerning periods are the Lunar New Year, and the Oct 1-ish time frame since that's usually when both mid-Autumn and National Day come together.  Anything else, girls are working.

The Chinese get criticized somewhat in the US sometimes because some of them work pretty much 365 days a year here in their shops.

Actually I went to a sauna last night and there is a benefit in going on dongzhi.  No crowds and lots of choices.  I guess in this case, it is a holiday that helps to keep most of the punters home with their families and SO.

If you read the history about the Chinese American experience, many of the protests and riots against the Chinese were basically about envy about their success from working too hard with hardly any days off during the year and doing jobs no red-blooded american would take.

In many places around the world there are laws on the books that prevent retail stores from opening at certain days or times so that the local mom-and-pop stores can have a day off and not suffer any competition/losses when the other stores (ie, chain stores, department stores, malls, insane   immigrants-owned stores) are open.

During winter solstice, everyone should be with family and sharing a meal.  I believe it is more important than new year's eve dinner, at least from what i've learned via my family.  Even in the movie RED CLIFF, they show that all the soldiers celebrate winter solstice even though they can not be with their families, they celebrate as a family.  The importance factor in my family of this holiday is HUGE, this is when every one of my siblings stop what they are doing and fly back to NYC to have a meal with the family.

since you guys reminded me, I took the ball and chain out to a nice dinner last night on the basis of Dongzhi, and since she was in a good mood (a very very rare occurence) I managed to get some hot sex in for once.  Unfortunately this happens only about as often as when Dongzhi occurs.

Congratulations! As for the review of hot sex -- I think you're her shill!

Just spoke to my grandmother today about Winter Solstice and her exact words were, Dong Dai Gor Neen, meaning Winter Solstice is BIGGER than New year's eve dinner.  From an old school prospective and I guess the most traditional considering she is over 90 years old, Winter Solstice is the most important Family Meal of the year.

That is why dongzhi is also sometimes known as the Chinese Thanksgiving, a day for the 'whole' family gets together to share a big meal, just like it is done on Thanksgiving in the usa.  As you know, Thanksgiving in the usa is more important than practically all the other holidays there because it is only about the family and transcends all ethnic, racial, cultural, religious ties.