Five foodie facts about Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, a time for family, friends and food.
Also known as Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year is a time of celebration for many people all around the world.
Food traditions are incredibly significant, with dishes such as fish, dumplings, spring rolls, and nian gao being served to bring good luck for the coming year.
As we usher in the Year of the Rabbit, let’s look at some of the delicious food eaten at Chinese New Year.
What is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration where friends and family gather to celebrate the beginning of spring. The holiday marks the transition between zodiac signs – in 2023, the Year of the Rabbit will replace the Year of the Tiger.
Filled with rich traditions, rituals and delicious food, this festival is a time to honour the past and welcome good fortune, luck and happiness for the future. Lanterns are hung, traditions observed, and doors open to all.
When is Chinese New Year?
The date for Chinese New Year actually changes each year, determined by the lunar calendar. However, it always falls at some point between 21st January and 20th February.
Celebrations actually last for 15 days, from Chinese New Year’s Eve until the Lantern Festival, but only the first seven days are considered a public holiday in China (this year 21st January – 27th January 2023).
Chinese New Year 2023 falls on Sunday 22nd January, with celebrations culminating with the Lantern Festival on 5th February.
Chinese New Year cultural facts
Red is a highly esteemed colour in Chinese culture denoting prosperity, happiness and fertility. So, when it comes to Chinese New Year you’ll find this vibrant hue everywhere from fireworks to decorations, clothing to tasty dishes. Jujubes are sweet Chinese red dates and will often grace the celebration table during dessert in steamed sticky rice cakes.
In Central China, red is brought into chicken recipes and steamed fish dishes with hot chilli peppers generously sprinkled on top for luck (and heat).
Red envelopes called hóngbāo are also given at Chinese New Year. Filled with money, they are often given to children and elderly relatives – although they must never be opened in front of the giver. There will never be an amount with the number four, as in Chinese the word is pronounced in a similar way to ‘death’. The number eight is a different story as it’s a lucky number believed to bring about prosperity and good luck.
Traditional Chinese New Year food
Food plays a key role in Chinese New Year celebrations.
New Year’s Eve holds particular significance with 年夜饭 / Nián yèfàn, or the Reunion Dinner on the first day. Best spent with loved ones, this day is all about exquisite food and feasting, with tables adorned with delicious spreads.
Many of the dishes have meaning or symbolism, and preparation and rituals can differ from region to region. In places like Hong Kong, New Year’s Day is a time to eat only vegetarian dishes – not only to denote a fresh start but because on this day it’s seen as taboo to take a life and eat meat. In areas by the coast, the dinners are even more flamboyant and diverse.
Traditions vary from region to region, but some dishes are seen on every table, including:
Lucky Chinese New Year Fish
During Chinese New Year celebrations, you’ll always find fish on the table. In Chinese, the word for fish ‘yu’, also means ‘surplus’ which families welcome for the future. There are many rituals surrounding fish – the head must be placed towards family elders or distinguished guests as a sign of respect and after one side is eaten, it shouldn’t be turned over as that’s unlucky.
Fish customs change from region to region too. In Southern China, some families eat just the middle part of the fish at the Reunion Dinner, as leaving the head and tail to the next day symbolises completeness. This happens in Eastern China too, but to promote a good year from start to finish.
Longevity Noodles
On special occasions in China, you’ll often find noodles on the table, and longevity noodles are a staple for Chinese New Year’s Day.
If you see a bowl of noodles on the table, you might find that it is one single and exceptionally long noodle! These elongated noodles are eaten in one continuous slurp from start to finish in the hope that everything will go smoothly in the coming year and promote long life – but if it’s bitten, the wish will be broken.
Chinese New Year Oranges
When families gather for Chinese New Year, they bring gifts aplenty. Oranges and tangerines are exchanged during the celebrations as they are believed to bring about good fortune, luck and fertility if the leaves and stem are still attached. It’s tradition to offer them to a loved one with both hands, but don’t be offended if they are refused at first as it’s polite to do so, but with a few attempts, they’ll be gratefully accepted.
hóngbāo – Red envelopes
Red envelopes called hóngbāo are also given at Chinese New Year. Filled with money, they are often given to children and elderly relatives – although they must never be opened in front of the giver. There will never be an amount with the number four, as in Chinese the word is pronounced in a similar way to ‘death’. The number eight is a different story as it’s a lucky number believed to bring about prosperity and good luck.
Nian Gao – Rice rituals at Chinese New Year
Rice is a staple at any time of year, but at Chinese New Year it has an even higher distinction. Nian Gao are traditional rice cakes made from glutinous rice flour, wheat flour, golden slab sugar, coconut cream, vegetable oil and water and are popular in Southern China – they can even be decorated with a red date on top or pan-fried with eggs. When these delectable cakes are eaten, they are accompanied by the phrase 年年高 / niánnián gāo /nyen-nyen gaoww meaning ‘getting higher year-after-year by year’ which welcomes life improvement and getting a promotion each year.
In some of the Northern parts of China such as the Beijing region, Laba Congee is also found on the table. Made from rice, peanuts, dried fruit, beans, lotus seeds, nuts and sugar, it symbolises the bounty of the past year’s harvest.
On the fifteenth and final day of the celebrations known as the Lantern Festival, sweet rice balls are served. These can be filled with anything from red bean paste to peanuts and their plump round shape signifies reunion and being together.
Friends and family uniting around fantastic food is a wonderful way to celebrate Chinese New Year and if you’re celebrating this year, we wish you all the luck and prosperity for the coming year of the tiger. Enjoy!
Chinese New Year Dumplings
With over 1,800 years’ worth of history, dumplings are a symbol of good luck eaten on every special occasion, but they are at their most significant during Chinese New Year.
This is because, in Chinese, dumplings 饺子 (jiǎo zi) sounds like 交子 (jiāo zi) – meaning the exchange between the old and new year. So, eating dumplings symbolises sending away the old and welcoming the new.
According to legend, the more dumplings you eat during New Year celebrations, the more money you will make in the new year. Some families also put a coin in a random dumpling and whoever eats that dumpling has good luck for the coming year.
Chinese New Year spring rolls
Spring rolls are tubular rolls filled with vegetables, meat or even sweet fillings, wrapped in thin dough wrappers, and then fried.
Spring rolls are a common part of Chinese cuisine, but did you know they are called spring rolls because they are traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year to celebrate the coming of spring? They should be eaten on the first day of spring (立春 / lì chūn).
Friends and family uniting around fantastic food is a wonderful way to celebrate Chinese New Year and if you’re celebrating this year, we wish you all the luck and prosperity for the coming Year of the Rabbit. Enjoy!
