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In Chinese culture, the new year is celebrated for 15 days, culminating with the Lantern Festival. During this time, several rituals are practiced, and lavish feasts are prepared for the occasion. The idea is to sit together and welcome the new year as a family, inculcating a feeling of belonging.
Moreover, each food holds a particular significance in their culture. While dumplings may signify wealth, rice balls may be a symbol of happiness and togetherness. Serving foods that bring good omens for the new year is the idea behind this wholesome feast that is prepared on this day.
Here are some of the foods that are usually included in the Chinese New Year meal to attract good luck, and here’s what each of them means:
1. Chinese New Year Cake
A glutinous rice cake often features in Chinese celebrations. This cake is made of glutinous sticky rice, sugar, lotus leaves, Chinese dates, and chestnuts. The black jelly-like cake is devoured for the New Year because it signifies a higher income or growth in one’s career. Not just business, but an overall improvement in one’s quality of life is also wished for. It is called "Nian Gao" in Chinese.
2. Dumplings
Who can say no to dumplings, especially on New Year's? The steamed flour bites stuffed with minced meat and vegetables are symbolic of wealth. The belief is that the more dumplings you eat on New Year's Day, the better your financial growth will be the following year. So if you want to attract good fortune, gobble up those dumplings.
3. Sweet Rice Balls
Also known as "tangyuan," sweet rice balls are a traditional Chinese Lantern festival dish. These sweet balls are a symbol of family togetherness and a reunion of sorts. Eating them with your family on New Year's Day is considered auspicious and is believed to attract bonding and togetherness with your loved ones. Not just for the new year, these balls are popular throughout the spring festival too.
4. Longevity Noodles
As the name suggests, these special noodles have long, uncut strands that signify the long life of the eater. Eating these noodles on New Year's Day is said to attract good health and longevity for the eater. Commonly eaten in northern parts of China, they are either fried or boiled and immersed in broth.
5. Fish
Did you know that the Chinese word for fish means abundance? No wonder they believe in eating fish while entering a new year. Within this, too, different kinds of fish signify different things. For instance, the crucian carp sounds like the word "good luck" in Chinese, and therefore it is preferred to be eaten. In some families, the head and tail are not eaten, and in others, the fish is the last thing to eat so that it remains until the end in abundance (like its meaning).
