Traditional Chinese New Year Food
As in the Western region, food is a very important part of all of our celebrations. This is no different for the Chinese New Year celebration. Chinese New Year food is a huge part of the entire celebration and everyone notices the degree of cooking when this fabulous holiday rolls around. While Chinese New Years has been adopted and celebrated around the world, many people do not know that this fabulous holiday has actually been dubbed the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year.
There is a wealth of opportunity to eat delicious and symbolic food during this celebration. It is served for a two week period. From the first day of the first lunar month, the celebration lasts until the fifteenth day of the month. Some people have the food catered, some people make it themselves, but the food served is always strongly symbolic.
Sometimes, certain foods are served based on how they look. Entire chickens are popular because they symbolize togetherness among the family unit. When you serve an entire chicken during the celebration, it is assurance that the family will be together and stay together. This is something that all families want for the coming Chinese new year.
Noodles are another cuisine staple during the New Year. They are extremely important, and lots of symbolism and superstitions surround them. Noodles should always be served long and uncut. This symbolizes a long life. You can serve them any way you like - in soup, as a side dish, as a main course, or as an appetizer. Just make sure you do not cut them in half!
Other foods are significant during the New Year because of the way they sound. Literally, they are used because of the Chinese pronunciation of the word. Lettuce is a good example of this. In Cantonese, the word for it sounds fortuitous. Likewise, certain citrus fruits are served because the words for them sound like forebears of good fortune, such as “luck” and “wealth.”
Fish is definitely one of the Chinese New Year foods that every single celebration has, one reason is the word ‘yu’ that usually symbolizes wish or abundance. It has been said that many people serve fish at their New Year celebrations because if the head and tail of the fish are still attached, the year will begin and end on a good note.