Happy Chinese New Year 2011

Wish you a happy and prosperous new year! Gong xi fa cai!

I wish everyone here good health and lots of red pocket!!

All the best and have a wonderful year.

Chinese New Year – often called the Chinese Lunar New Year. Get out your broom and sweep away the past: the Year of the Rabbit begins February 3. It is a time to gather with family, honor ancestors and celebrate with a big banquet that symbolizes prosperity in the New Year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There're chinese people around the world. It's no doubt that I'm also Thai-Chinese. I'm familiar with Chinese New Year Celebration since I was young. The most importance to celebrate New Year is to pray and to prepare offerings to the gods and our ancestors. We believe that these prayers will bring merit and blessings. After each prayer, we burn golden paper, believing that the paper will become money in the after life. 

The offerings include steamed duck, chicken, pork, fruit, Chinese cake and vegetarian food such as dried mushrooms, bean cakes and edible Chinese flowers. There're good meaning for every dishes which i'd like to let you know. 

Food Symbolism

Most of the dishes served during Lunar New Year (also known as Spring Festival) are symbolic of something positive and hopeful.

• Chicken and fish, for example, symbolize happiness and prosperity--especially when served whole.
• Dishes made with oranges represent wealth and good fortune because they are China's most plentiful fruit.
• Noodles represent longevity: therefore, they should never be cut!
• Duck symbolizes fidelity, while eggs signify fertility.
• Bean curd or tofu, however, is avoided because its white color suggests death and misfortune.

Dishes are also chosen based on homonyms--words that either are spelled the same or sound the same as other words. Fish (yu) is served because it sounds similar to the Chinese word for plenty; whole fish represents abundance. Turnips are cooked because their name (cai tou) also means "good luck."

Another popular Lunar New Year dish is jiaozi, dumplings boiled in water. In some areas of China, coins are placed in the center of jiaozi. Whoever bites into one of these dumplings will have an exceptionally lucky year.


Try some of these lucky Chinese dishes for a prosperous year to come --> click



content credit : allrecipes.com