Traditional Foods For Chinese New Year

While most of the world celebrates the New Year on January 1, the Chinese celebrate it on a different day in relation to the lunar calendar. Like most new year’s celebrations, Chinese New Year festivities are also filled with traditions and customs, including traditional Chinese New Year food served for luck and prosperity. Because a Chinese New Year Celebration is not complete without food, each family is sure to prepare traditional foods to usher in the new year.

What is Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is also called the Lunar New Year. It is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year according to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. This celebration is also referred to as the Spring Festival, as it marks the first day of spring. This celebration marks the beginning of a new year, and it also marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

When is Chinese New Year Celebrated

According to the traditional Chinese calendar, the new year is celebrated on the second new moon after the winter solstice. When translated into the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year usually falls between January 21 and February 20. This year, the Chinese New Year falls on January 22, 2023. This is the year of the rabbit.

Celebrations for the lunar new year typically last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year’s Eve to the Lantern Festival.

How do You Celebrate the Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is one of China’s biggest festivals and it is marked by many traditions. Prior to the new year, families will clean their homes to sweep away bad luck and prepare the home to receive good luck. Families also visit their ancestors and offer sacrifices to honor them. On Lunar New Year’s Eve, families gather together for a big family reunion dinner. Here, Chinese New Year dishes are served to bring luck, prosperity, and health to the entire family.

Throughout the celebrations, red envelopes with money are also given to children and retired seniors. Firecrackers and fireworks are also rampant, as it is believed to drive away bad spirits. Dragon and lion dances are also a new year tradition, especially around business establishments, to usher in another year of good luck.

Of course, one of the biggest traditions of the new year is the food. The best food for Chinese New Year are dishes that are both delicious and prosperous. There are many Chinese New Year Dishes that are served around this holiday, but there are seven essential lucky foods. Other families can add more, depending on how they want to celebrate, but there are seven that should always be a part of the Chinese New Year table.

What are the 7 lucky food for Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year foods are staple dishes that are delicious but are also symbols of luck and prosperity for the upcoming year. Each food will have a different spiritual meaning, and having all seven of the best food for Chinese New Year is the greatest way to start your year off with a bang. Here is a quick guide to the seven must-have Chinese New Year dishes along with their traditional meanings.

Fish: To Increase Prosperity

In Chinese, the word for fish sounds like “surplus.” Because of this, fish has become a traditional Chinese New Year food because they like to have a “surplus” at the end of the year.  Usually, a whole fish is steamed with aromatic vegetables and herbs. Fish is usually the last dish served, with some leftovers to be consumed on the next day to continue with “surplus.” The head and tail are also left intact.

Chinese Dumplings: Symbolizes Wealth

No reunion dinner is complete without Chinese dumplings. This traditional Chinese New Year food is made to look like Chinese silver ingots, so the dumplings are oval and boat-shaped with two ends upturned. The more dumplings you eat during the new year’s eve celebrations, the more money and wealth you can make in the new year.

Whole Chicken: The Symbol of Family, Wholeness, and Luck

The Chinese word for a chicken sound similar to the word for “good luck” and “prosperity.” Because of this, a whole chicken is served during the Chinese New Year to symbolize unity and wholeness in the family and to signify a prosperous start to the new year. The chicken is served whole, including the head and feet. And it is usually braised or roasted with ginger and soy sauce. Only the breadwinner eats the chicken feet, as it is said to help them grab onto wealth.

Chinese New Year Cake: For Promotion and Higher Income

The Chinese New Year Cake is called Nian Gao. It is a rice cake made of glutinous rice, sugar, chestnuts, Chinese dates, and lotus leaves. This Chinese New Year, food is consumed to improve your life through a higher income or position at work.

There are many ways to prepare this rice cake, but for new year’s celebrations, they are often prepared sweet. Some choose to fry the batter, while others choose to fill the rice cakes with red bean paste or mashed jujube.

Spring Rolls: Wealth

Spring rolls, as the name suggests, are a Chinese New Year food that is traditionally eaten during the spring. Because spring rolls are deep-fried until they are crispy and golden, they resemble gold bars. Due to the similarities, spring rolls make the best Chinese New Year food to bring in wealth to your life.

These spring rolls are filled with vegetables or meat, and sometimes they are also made into a sweet dessert. When eating spring rolls, it is also tradition to say “A ton of gold” as a wish for prosperity.

Sweet Rice Balls: Reunion and Family Togetherness

Sweet rice balls are another staple Chinese New Year food. They are often served at family gatherings, and through the years, they have come to symbolize unity and family.

These sweet rice balls can be served deep-fried or in a hot broth or syrup. They are made from glutinous rice flour and stuffed with sweet or savory fillings. The most popular fillings include chopped peanuts, red bean paste, sesame paste, or preserves.

Longevity Noodles: Longevity and Happiness

Noodles are another traditional new year’s dish. But for new year celebrations, families will often serve longevity noodles. Longevity noodles have very long noodles which are served uncut to symbolize wishes for a long and happy life. The important thing to remember with this noodle dish is to make sure that you don’t bite or break it while it’s cooking.

Longevity noodles are traditionally served boiled in a broth together with meat and vegetables. But it can also be served fried.

What do Filipinos Eat for Chinese New Year?

There are many thriving Filipino-Chinese communities around the Philippines, and their new year traditions have also spread to the general Filipino population. When Filipino-Chinese families celebrate Lunar New Year, they prepare the traditional Chinese new year foods. But they also incorporate other lucky food such as fruits, tikoy, pancit, hopia, and green vegetables.

Tikoy

Tikoy is one of the most popular treats for the Lunar New Year in the Philippines. Many have said that tikoy is based on the nian gao recipe from the southern part of China. It is made from glutinous rice flour mixed with lard, water, sugar, and flavorings. When bought from the store, families prepare it by cutting it into small slices, dipping the tikoy slices into a bowl of beaten eggs, and frying until golden.

Tikoy is such a ubiquitous new year treat that even non-Chinese Filipinos buy boxes of this sweet and sticky treat. Most people prefer the plain ones, but popular tikoy flavors include panda and ube.

Pancit

Like the traditional longevity noodles, pancit has come to symbolize long life. It is a staple food for the new year, and many Filipinos also eat pancit on their birthdays to celebrate longevity and good health.

This noodle dish is thought to be brought by Chinese immigrants. They also introduced Filipinos to cooking with soy sauce and other soy products.

Mandarins, Oranges, and Pineapple

Round and golden fruits are said to bring luck. So for the Chinese New Year, Filipinos are sure to have oranges or mandarins on their table. Eating and displaying round golden fruits is believed to bring good fortune to the family.

The pineapple is also considered a lucky fruit because it resembles the Hokkien word for “prosperity.” This is significant for the Filipino-Chinese community as Hokkien is the language that most of them speak.

Hopia

The humble hopia is the Filipino version of the Chinese mooncake. It is usually round in shape and filled with sweet fillings like ube, mung bean paste, or fruit preserves. There are also savory options like pork-filled hopia.

Celebrate the Chinese New Year With the Gift of Luxury

Celebrating Chinese New Year in your new Brittany luxury home is a surefire way to usher in the year of the rabbit and another year of prosperity for you and your family. Celebrate on the first day of the new lunar year with traditional foods for luck and for blessings and protection.

Brittany Corporation has a longstanding reputation for bringing the best luxury homes for families who want to live the luxury lifestyle. Their newest development is a sprawling new community along Daang Hari called Forresta. Forresta is an estate filled with the beautiful elements of nature that will give you and your family a safe refuge away from busy city life.

Welcome the new year with a new home and a luxury lot in Forresta and Daang Hari. For more information on Forresta and our other Daang Hari luxury listings, feel free to browse the Brittany website. Follow us on LinkedIn and YouTube, so you never miss an update from us!

Suggested Read: Lucky Items To Have Inside Your Luxury Home This Chinese New Year

Suggested Read: How To Spend Chinese New Year In Your Luxury Home

Suggested Read: Spend Chinese New Year In Your Glass House

Suggested Read: Why Spend Your New Year In Tagaytay