The Best 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.

The neat thing about the Chinese New Year is that food, banquets of food is served for fifteen days straight until the new lunar moon, for that is when the Chinese New Year happens. Food is a huge part of this tradition. In the states, caterers are brought in and serve many, many people at all sorts of celebrations, but back in China, many of the families cook all of their own foods and cook for many, many people.

There are a few foods that actually have a symbolic nature to them. For instance, the whole chicken can mean family togetherness, and this type of food given during the Chinese New Yearcan mean that the family will be together and happy throughout the entire 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 also frequently served. It has several symbols attached to it. The Chinese word for fish is “yu.” It sounds like the words for terms of good fortune. As well, the fish itself is considered indicative of good luck. When it is served whole with both the head and tail in tact, it is indicative of the year’s good beginning and ending.

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