On January 28, the Chinese (and those who just feel like celebrating it) will rejoice with the Spring Festival and will officially welcome the Year of the Rooster. Chinese New Years and the traditional Chinese rituals and new year traditions are already celebrated by people around the world, may it be from China or not.
But before you get too excited with the dancing of the dragons and celebration of lucky colors in streets, here are some of the traditional Chinese food rituals that are believed to bring the best of luck every Chinese New Year.
1. Chinese people always serve fish during new years because they consider fish as a symbol of surplus, and they actually believe that they must have something surplus by the end of the year. In China, this means that you have gained something during the previous year. Therefore, it is a very good sign of prosperity for the succeeding year.
Fish can either be boiled, steamed or braised. But whatever cook it may be, the Chinese tradition says that the fish must be the last dish left in the dining table together with some left-over from other menus. In fact, in the northern part of China, it is widely practised that the head and the tail of fish must be left uneaten until the New Year begins. This symbolizes that the incoming year will begin and end with a surplus, or with prosperity.
2. The celebration of the Chinese New Year will never be complete without the succulent dumplings. This ritual has been well-practised for over 1,800 years now. The Chinese people consider this traditional dish to be a great sign of wealth for the incoming year. Dumplings commonly appear to be boat-shaped and oval which are believed to look like the silver ingots in China.
Chinese people also believe that if you eat more dumplings during the celebration of the Chinese New Year, there is a possibility that you will produce more money for that year, Free Times reports. Not all dumplings are considered lucky, however. Traditional Chinese people claim that in order to be a sign of luck, the dumplings need to have a good number of pleats in it and must not be arranged in circles, but in lines instead.
3. Among the superstitious beliefs known to Chinese is the principle that there are kitchen gods who put up an actual list of the good and bad deeds of men and hand it over to heaven's Jade Emperor 23rd day of the 12th month in the lunar calendar. Because of this, Chinese people get used to offering foods for the kitchen gods which includes soups, dried foods, cakes and nuts.
If you do this, the kitchen gods are believed to utter only the good deeds you have done and disregard those which are bad. Aside from the foods, the ritual also comes with incense and paper which are believed to represent money, International Business Times reports.
4. Fruits such as pomeloes, oranges and tangerines are widely served and eaten during Chinese New Year as they are believed to be representations of wealth and fullness. The roundness and golden color of these fruits are what made the Chinese people draw the belief that these fruits symbolize luck, fortune and continuous prosperity.
5. Spring rolls in China are often served during the Chinese New Year as Chinese people believe that the spring rolls symbolize wealth. Traditionally speaking, spring rolls are widely served during the Spring Festival in the eastern part of China including the provinces of Fujian, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
6. Chinese cuisine popularized the longevity noodles which are believed to symbolize longer life. In Chinese tradition, longevity noodles are cooked and served without cutting even a bit of the noodle. The Chinese actually believe that the longer the noodles are, the longer your life will be. It can be served in a plate, fried, or boiled together with its broth in a bowl.
Yes. Chinese New Year cannot be complete without these traditions. And these traditions relatively give hope to people who celebrate it. But always bear in mind that these are only guides. In the real world, true success lies on how each and every one of us works hard for it.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
