What to Eat
It wouldn’t be a Chinese festival without stuffing yourselves silly with loads of great food. Some of these foods might be weekday-dinner staples while you’re living in China – but as they’re said to bring luck around this time of year, there’s all the more reason to eat them.
With Spring Festival just around the corner, here are seven symbolic foods to get on your celebratory menu – and the good fortune they can bring you in the Lunar Year 4718.
不胡吃海喝怎么叫过春节呢!有的食物被赋予了福运,那么就更应该大吃特吃!以下是7道春节经典美味:
It’s not like any of us need another excuse to eat dumplings – but we’ll give you one anyway. In appearance, the humble dumpling isn’t too far away from silver ingots, the form of currency once used in China. Dumpling making is also a great little get together alternative if you’ve overspent on bottomless brunch this month – just make sure to include plenty of pleats when folding the dumplings, or you may be in for more financial woes this coming year.
这种不起眼的饺子很像古时的银锭。选择自制饺子也非常不错哦——包饺子的时候一定要包很多褶皱,这意味着来年财运会被牢牢包住。
The crispy, delicious outer shell on these deep-fried dim sum rolls have a delightful golden colour, said to represent money and a wish for prosperity throughout the year.
香脆可口的春卷呈现食欲满满的金色,代表着财运滚滚和来年顺利。
You may recognise tangyuan from China’s Lantern Festival, but these are also chowed down during Spring Festival too. Their round shape and pronunciation sounding a lot like ‘group round’ in Chinese, associate these balls with reunions and being together.
汤圆源自中国的元宵节,春节也可以吃!圆圆的形状加上发音听起来很像“团圆”,于是人们把汤圆和团圆联系在一起。
This can refer to a number of different fruits, including the likes of tangerines, oranges and pomelos. You may have noticed a trend amongst Chinese foods for pronunciation and appearance giving certain symbolism to fruits, and these are no different; these fruits’ round and golden colour represent fullness and wealth, while the Chinese names for tangerine, orange and pomelo sound a lot like luck, success, and the verb ‘to have’, respectively.
这可以指很多种水果包括橘子,橙子和柚子。发音和外观给食物赋予了一定的象征意义,而金色代表着丰满和财富。
年的意思是新年糕点,“糕”音同“高”。吃年糕会保佑你职场高,考试高,长高高。
Image by @goodeats_yqr via Unsplash
More specifically chángshòu miàn, meaning longevity noodles. These are extra long, and shouldn’t be cut or even chewed – so prepare your ears for an onslaught of slurping.
长寿面都是很长的面条,入口不应该嚼断一口吸入!