Monday, February 3, 2014

Symbolic Food and Recipes to Celebrate Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is recognized by a number of names. It is called Lunar New Year, Spring Festival and Gua Nian in Chinese. Chinese New Year is one of the longest celebrations as it is carried out for 15 days. It begins with the first new moon of the Lunar New Year and ends on the full moon day.

Celebrations are marked with parades, dinners, reunions, exchange gifts, food festivals, lion dances, dragons and more. People follow year-old traditions during the two-week celebrations and hold reunion dinners. Cleaning and decorating the houses are major rituals of the Chinese New Year celebration. All these are done before New Year's Eve day.

A big part of any holiday tradition is, of course, food and drink. When I think of parties, celebrations, reunions and other events tied to specific holidays, I can't help but also think of the foods on the table and the drinks overflowing in our glasses as they said "cheers," "santé," "l'chaim," "prost," and the like. That certainly holds true for New Year celebrations - on any calendar. And, at the end of this month, families and friends will come together again to ring in the Chinese New Year - and say "gan bei" and "yam sing."

The foods enjoyed during New Year are similar to those consumed during the rest of the year, but with a special emphasis on bringing luck in the coming year. Potstickers and dumplings, for instance, are eaten across China every day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But New Year potstickers are special, shaped to resemble gold and silver ingots to bring wealth in the year ahead. Peanuts are said to bring long life, so during New Year celebrations some cooks will add peanuts to potsticker filling. And the shape of spring rolls already resembles gold bars, so more of these are eaten during New Year than any other time.

Rhonda Parkinson, list down some of the foods that has symbolic meaning they prepares during Chinese New Year.

Symbolic Chinese Foods
What are the symbolic meanings of a certain foods? It is based on the appearances or how it looks on occasion.
Just like for example, serving noodles will stand for a long life; an old superstition says that it's bad luck to cut them. Serving a whole chicken through the Chinese New Year season symbolizes family togetherness. Both clams and Spring Rolls symbolize wealth; clams because of their resemblance to bouillon, and Spring Rolls because their shape is similar to gold bars.

On the other hand, a food may have special significance during Chinese New Year because of the way the Chinese word for it sounds. For example, the Cantonese word for lettuce sounds like rising fortune, so it is very common to serve a lettuce wrap filled with other lucky food. Tangerines and oranges are passed out freely during Chinese New Year as the words for tangerine and orange sound like luck and wealth, respectively. And let's not forget pomelos. This large ancestor of the grapefruit signifies abundance, as the Chinese word for pomelo sounds like the word for "to have."

Fish also play a large role in festive celebrations. The word for fish, "Yu," sounds like the words both for wish and abundance. As a result, on New Year's Eve it is customary to serve a fish at the end of the evening meal, symbolizing a wish for abundance in the coming year. For added symbolism, the fish is served whole, with head and tail attached, symbolizing a good beginning and ending for the coming year.

And what about the sweet, steamed cakes that are so popular during the Chinese New Year season? Cakes such as Sticky Rice Cake have symbolic significance on many levels. Their sweetness symbolizes a rich, sweet life, while the layers symbolize rising abundance for the coming year. Finally, the round shape signifies family reunion.


So if you missed the fireworks and celebrations on New Year's Eve, don't worry - you'll have another chance to celebrate. Chinese New Year falls on January 31 in 2014. It is the Year of the Horse.



How they celebrate Chinese new year?

CHINESE NEW YEAR INTEVIEW

Last February 1, 2014 I was given a chance to interview some of my facebook friends who celebrate Chinese New Year, whether she/he is a full, half or not a Chinese.
And I’m so grateful because they give their time to answer some of my questions.

The questions here including the Personal Information, and how do they celebrate the Chinese New Year this year 2014.

* Name,
* Currently status
If college student they’ll need to notify what school,
If they are working they need to notify where are they’re job.
* Do you have a Chinese blood?
* Religion
* How do you celebrate Chinese New Year? And what are some philosophies about celebrating Chinese New Year?

And these are some of their answers,

INTERVIEWEE #1

Name: Paula Monique Dy Guazo Sillano
Currently, you are: 2nd yr high school
at La Immaculada Conception School
Do you have Chinese blood?
- Yes, I am half Filipino and Chinese Buddhism

How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?
-Cinecelebrate namin by one hour prayer and thanks giving prayer and 5 minutes silence bago kumain then yung food commonly noodles type foods like ramen or pancit canton na Chinese style then meron ding mga puto na kulay puti pwde ring siopao at ngsasabit kami ng red lanterns for good luck tapos lahat ng family namen naka-red or polka dotted na damit then yung mga bata under 8 magsusuot ng goodluck bracelets at may barya dapat bulsa nla :))

INTERVIEWEE #2

Name: Maricris Del Rosario Montano
Currently working: at Brunei as Catering and Restaurant service
Do you have Chinese Blood?
-No, I’m a pure Filipino.
Religion: catholic

How do you Celebrate Chinese New Year?
“We’re more on color red sa mga gamit ayaw ng mga Chinese friend ko ang table cloth na yan I mean table cloth na white parang malas sa mga Chinese yun dapat mga kulay red ganun haha, parang malas kasi sa
kanila tapos mga orange madami parang sa atin din na swerte ang mga bilog-bilog na fruits at pagkatapos sa may door naming ay may mga bawang may color red tapos pati mga halaman nila ay may ribbon na red especially yung am paw na binibigay nila kasi swerte sa kanila yun yung nagbibigay ng pera diba sa atin pag New Year dapat hindi pwedeng magbigay ng money kasi New Year haha.

INTERVIEWEE #3

Name: Raymond A. Choy
Currently, you are: working as cook
Do you have Chinese blood: yes I am half Filipino and half Chinese
Religious affiliation: Catholic
How do you celebrate Chinese New Year: I, we celebrate Chinese out of town.... With my family and relatives.

INTERVIEWEE #4

Name: Mark Joseph C. Yap
Currently, you are: student
At: Sienna collage San Jose Del Monte City
Do you have Chinese blood: yes I am half Filipino and half Chinese?
Religious affiliation: Catholic
How do you celebrate Chinese New Year?
-sa bahay lang kami kasama ang family ko. Nagpaputok ng fireworks plays pagkatapos nun ay kumain, pagkatapos nun ay naglaro kami ng mahjongg at nag karaoke.