A Taste of Chinese New Year’s Traditions and Foods

2017 has just arrived, but to the Chinese, New Year is merely a western tradition. The year of the Rooster is the holiday that has been long awaited for, as it crawls closer with January 28th approaching. With just days to the beginning of the two week Chinese New Year Holiday, there is much more than sleeping in late or visiting the beaches of Indonesia that goes behind this thousand-year-old tradition. AISG community members without Eastern-Asian backgrounds may view this oriental celebration of twelve zodiacs (animals if you prefer to call them) to be alien and distinct, as it appears to be a chaotic party of dancing dragons and lions. However, to students or faculty from traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other southeastern Asian cultures, Chinese New Year (also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year) is a festival of family gathering, holiday celebration, and never-ending excitement. It is the single closest holiday to Christmas or New Year in Western countries.

One thing should be clear: Chinese New Year is definitely not a single day holiday. It is an ongoing celebration, similar to Christmas preparation and its original twelve days. There is a total of 15 days that go into Chinese New Year with a significant events to be taken place on each day.

We can take closer look at the different traditional practices and foods of Chinese New Year to have a better understanding of how this holiday is celebrated.

Cultural Traditions

Red Colored House Ornaments and other decorations

While the color of red is often associated with Chinese culture, it is mainly due to the Chinese tradition of using red colored ornaments to decorate houses during Chinese New Year. The color of red is a sign of prosperity. The meaning behind the color of red roots from the thousand-year legend of the beast Nian, where the beast would appear on Chinese New Year and haunt civilians. According to the legend, the Chinese people learned that the beast was afraid of red color, and thus they decorated their doors with red paper and posters.

The paper images with figures on them are always hung up in pairs since most traditional Chinese homes have two doors in the front. On the paper or posters pasted upon the doors of households during the Chinese holiday season often depict historic warriors or even gods. Beside from human figures, the drawing of a dragon with a phoenix is commonly found, as the two majestic creatures are known as the protectors of humans. Therefore, with a dragon and a phoenix at the door, the Chinese believe that their houses will be guarded and protected from outside threats. And beside from the drawings, calligraphy is also known to be a dominant decoration hung on the two sides of the doors and the top. They often come with seven-word lines on each side, and four-word idioms that usually carry messages about bringing prosperity and peace.

Fury Firecrackers

The snapping and crackling tiny red “dynamites” are known to be a common tradition in Chinese culture. No matter if it’s a wedding, opening a new shop, or the night of Chinese New Year, firecrackers seem to make an appearance all over various Chinese celebrations. Similar to the red ornaments that cover every Chinese household during the new year, the red firecrackers are a symbol of good luck. Once again, in the legend of Nian, the firecrackers were used to scare away the beast, as Nian greatly feared the deafening explosions.

Even up to the 21st century, the Chinese still hope to bring good look through the use of firecrackers. Despite that they were originally used as a weapon against the Nian beast thousands of years ago, nowadays, they are in general a symbol of peace and hope.

Returning “Home” and exchanging Red Packets

The concept of home in Chinese culture is usually the town or city that the parent’s are from, not exactly the place where the children grow up in. Returning to each family’s hometown is a tradition commonly done as a sign of respect to the elders, who either still reside back in the parents’ hometown or have long past away and were buried there.

Most of what the younger generations love of returning to their hometowns is that the older generation hands out generous small red packets holding various amount of cash within. In most situations, the money given to children is unfortunately used to buy hideous sweaters or simply handed over to the parents. However, the older generation has gradually begun to pick up the tradition by exchanging red packets through virtual platforms, such as WeChat or Alipay, with friends or acquaintances of similar age.

Traditional Chinese New Year Food

Nian Gao (年糕) – Translated to “Year Cake” or “Chinese New Year Cake”

Nian Gao is similar to a cake or pie, except that it is made with glutinous rice. Depending on the region in China, Nian Gao is prepared, cooked, and eaten differently. Varying flavors from savory to salty, and from spicy to sweet, it is served based off of the taste preference of the local people. For example, Shanghai Cuisine stir fries Nian Gao with scallions, beef, pork, cabbage, Chinese cabbage and other ingredients, giving it its distinct savory flavor and soft texture. On the other hand, northern Chinese natives are keen on adding red bean or green bean paste with their Nian Gao, while steaming them to create a bouncy texture with a sweet filling. Similar to the north, Southern Cantonese also prefer a sugary taste to their Nian Gao, mixing brown sugar with the rice and pan-frying them to make a greasy and tasty dish.

Celebratory Food

Since most previous generations of Chinese people grew up in poverty, meat and fish used to be valuable foods only eaten on specific occasions, often on Chinese New Year. With most families much more wealthy in modern day, the tradition still continues with buying and cooking tasty and lavish foods, which include spring rolls, dumplings, and also sweet rice balls. Fresh fish is always bought and cooked on the night of Chinese New Year, as it is a symbol of wealth and good luck for the upcoming new year.

There is much more that goes into the celebration of Chinese New Year, as it is a cultural tradition dating back thousands of years. The colorful and wonderful practices still taken place during modern day’s Chinese New Year is never limited to the Chinese people themselves, but rather a festival welcoming every person around the world to join and to experience.

Find out more about Chinese New Year traditions at:

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/special-report/chinese-new-year/

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-firecrackers.htm