Chinese New Year is also referred to as Spring Festival and it is the most important festival from the Chinese lunar calendar. It is a good time to gather together with families and honor the dead, it is also a good time to taste a rainbow of items of tasty Chinese New Year foods and treats that symbolizes luck, wealth and health in the coming year.
No these traditional goodies are not only for the benefit of taste buds, they still come with a backup of traditions and culture which Chinese people till now follow religiously. Here, we would like to present some of the most popular CNY treats explaining the cultural value behind them.
1. Nian Gao
Literally meaning ‘year cake’, Nian Gao is a rather starchy, pleasantly sweet rice cake produced from glutinous rice flour and sugar and occasionally peanuts or other additional components. It’s a prime feature of a Chinese New Year meal because it represents prosperity and promotion in the upcoming year.
The word “Gao” literally means “high” or “tall” in Chinese, thus it is understandable that it is a good luck to put it in one’s mouth during the festivities. People take it for festive occasions or New Year’s celebrations to refresh their memories of various dreams they hold closer to their hearts.
2. Mandarin Oranges
Chestnuts, or “chen pi cheng” in Chinese, are one of those fruits that are customarily taken during Chinese New Year. Because of its round shape and orange colouring, it is associated with being full and prosperous, and can therefore not be missed from any family’s reunion dinner.
There is also the pleasant folk custom of flicking the peels with the rind over your shoulder after the orange has been consumed. It is expected that those which fall whole, or those in several pieces, will be equal to the number of months in the succeeding year.
Pineapple Tart
The said pineapple tart, or “feng li su” is a Chinese New Year snack that has golden and crunchy texture as well as a yummy flavor. The shape of the pineapple resembles the Chinese word for butterfly, as butterflies are auspicious and symbolise happiness. The tart is sweet and the addition of prosperity gives many families and friends a good reason to celebrate with it.
Also, pineapple is a symbol of welcome and hospitality based on such connotations as exoticism and luxury. Pineapple tarts symbolize the something sweet to eat when meeting loved ones or the testimony of love within the family and prosperity in the future year.
Almond Cookies
The most famous Chinese New Year cookie is almond cookie also known as xing ren bing for their velvety taste and crumbliness. Bright white color reflects purity, and the purity of gold— this suits the most productive layer of human society.
Itself almonds are used in many kinds of Chinese sweets because of the meaning they convey. They represent health, happiness and sometimes, prosperity, that is why almonds cookies are always considered a useful addition to any CNY.
Koh
Koh or known as “Red Bean Pudding” is one of the most simplest local dessert that consist of red bean paste, egg white and sugar. This moreish dessert is traditionally consumed during Chinese New Year to symbolise togetherness, and the importance of family.
The choice of a deep red color to depict the koh only means one thing – good fortune and happiness. There are also such myths as a belief that the number of stirs in red bean paste during its preparation defines the relationship within the family members next year. Thus, it is quite familiar to witness mothers and grandmothers from Chinese housings consistently stir their koh pots during holidays.
Egg Rolls
Egg rolls also known as “dan guan,” is another traditional snack during CNY which is made from eggs and sugar. Shining gold color is associated with money while the soft and smooth skin that peanuts have is associated with smooth waters in the advanced new year. The egg rolls are usually prepared in small numbers, and are approximately half the size of normal egg rolls, which means they represent happiness in every part of live.
Lotus Seeds
Lotus seeds are an important segment of Chinese food and have been used from time immemorial in Chinese Eastern herbal medicine. They are observed to be having many health benefits and they are frequently incorporated in different sweet delicacies like the lotus seed paste lotus seed soup.
Lotus seeds are associated with fertility and abundance and thus are more appropriate to take during the Chinese New Year celebrations. They are processed for sweet porridge or lotus seed paste cake which is a delicious and perfect food to be served during the festive reunion time.
Therefore, the Chinese New Year celebration is a perfect chance to enjoy the tasty desserts which are interesting from the perspective of symbolism. The famous sticky Nian Gao and the crispy almond cookies are undeniable cultural symbols of China; As much as the Rongo A Rongo tablets are of New Zealand, these traditional Chinese sweets put into history thousands of years of Chinese society. However, should roads lead one into these delightful treats, there is much more than the surface level and knowledge that must be kept alive may be owed to the forefathers of such traditions.
Chinese New Year is a wonderful time and also one of renewal and happiness, and these classics sweets are all part of the celebration. Distribution of such goodies to the family and friend compounds the festive mood and creates a worthwhile companionship necessary for a prosperous following year.
With this understanding of the traditional associated with these Chinese New Year sweetmeats, you can appreciate Chinese New Year cookies with its cultural references much better. Therefore, eat these yummy treats as you gear yourself up for a year that is rich in wealth, good health and happiness. Gung hay fat choy!