It's that time of year again-fireworks, dumplings, and the color red everywhere. You may think that's all to it and it's all over in a day. Actually, there is much more to this unique cultural festival.
In fact, the Chinese New Year celebration isn't a one-day event. It lasts for 3 weeks.
Here's a complete guide to Chinese New Year:
Note: All images come from pixabay. No need to sue me!
For those who don't know what Chinese New Year is:
Chinese New Year is one of the most celebrated festivals of the year for the Chinese. Actually, it isn't one day of celebration, but 15 days! It starts on the first day of the first lunar month and ends on the 15th, the day of the Lantern Festival. There are many unique traditions, as listed down below.
1) Eating fish is not fishy (and other must-have dishes on Chinese New Year)
The biggest event of Chinese New Year is the family dinner
A lot of these dishes and other traditions on this date has a lot to do with a play on words. Because Chinese has four tones and there are only so many combinations of pinyin, it doesn't come to a surprise that a lot of words sound the same but have drastically different meanings! (Take 'ma', for example, each tone of this pinyin gives four different words.)
This is where word-play gives this festival some creative sayings and yummy dishes!
Fish
鱼
鱼Yú (fish) sounds like 余 Yú (prosperity), giving the saying 年年有余 （nián nián you yú） (there is prosperity every year!)
(Or have fish every year...or if you're like one of my relatives, keep a premade fish for a whole year in your freezer and completely forget about it and when a guest like me comes, take it out and microwave)
Fish is cooked in a variety of ways (steaming, boiling, stir-frying), but it is usually never fried. Here's a popular recipe my family uses:
Dumplings
饺子（jiáo zi)
Dumplings represent wealth because they are shaped so similarly to gold lingots. And just because it's such a traditional and yummy Chinese food that this holiday would be incomplete without. Handmaking dumplings is also a great way to bond the family together.
The sky's the limit with what you fill the dumplings with!
Another tradition is to put a coin in one of the dumplings and whoever eats it is said to be "the person with the best luck this year".
You might wonder if the person would swallow the coin, but one does not simply stuff a whole dumpling in his/her mouth. After a bite, the person can look to see if they have the coin. (Also, when one dumpling seems lumpier than the rest, you can get a pretty good idea of where your fortune's at)
Dumplings are so yummy, in fact, that people eat it every day during the duration of the whole festival (starting from January 25th-February 4th)
Noodles 面条
Long noodles, called 长寿面 chángshòu miàn , is eaten to symbolize longevity. The more you eat the longer you live! Noodles are also eaten to celebrate one's birthday to wish that one lives longer.
These noodles are definitely not like the popular cup of Ramon you may be familiar with. Chinese noodles are longer and tend to be brewed in a soup containing different vegetables, meat, and sauces. (When you serve them, the noodles with the soup are put into a bowl)
拔丝地瓜- Candied sweet potatoes
(ba shu di gua)
Coated with honey and sugar and fried for a crunchy yet soft texture, it's definitely my favorite dish! Strings of honey wrap the potatoes and give it a whimsical effect. When you pick one up, the strings stick, so you might have to raise the potato a few feet up in the air before you can free it. (Kind of like the cheese peeling from a pizza slice when you lift it)
Like noodles, it symbolizes longevity. Children love competing to see who can pull the potato the highest in the air, almost like seeing who will live the longest. Adults, on the other hand, usually dip it in water to avoid the mess.
Note: This isn't a really a traditional dish like the others, but is still desirable to have on the table!
Ice cream cake, sponge cake, and... sticky cake?!? (年糕)
(nián gāo)
A meal is never complete without a dessert. Nian gao is the perfect dish to finish off a meal! Gao sounds like "tall/growth", so as the saying goes "nian nian gao" (Increase in prosperity year by year".
Don't be fooled by its looks! It's not a big piece of jello! This cake is usually made of rice and topped with red dates. Of course, there are many different recipes. To give it the sticky texture, the rice is
Sweet rice balls （汤圆）
tang yuan
These are kind of like boiled mochi. It has a sticky- texture on the outside make out of dough and on the inside is usually some type of sweet filling.
ToFU 豆腐
do fu
Tofu sounds like 'fu' (fortune/happiness) in Chinese. So eating a mouthful of tofu is a mouthful of luck!
The dish below is called mapo tofu (It's boiled tofu in a sweet/spicy suace topped with green onion)
Chicken 鸡
(jī)
Chicken is also eaten because it is symbolic of family unity. It is usually boiled and topped with green onions. Also in Chinese, ji (chicken) sounds like "ji" (luck)
Tangerines and oranges
The Chinese for orange (and tangerine) is 橙 (chéng), which sounds the same as the Chinese for 'success' (成). One of the ways of writing tangerine (桔 jú) contains the Chinese character for luck (吉 jí /jee/) (similar to chicken)
Spring/egg rolls （春卷）
chun juan
These two crispy delicacies symbolize wealth because their shape (and color) is like a gold bar!
Note: Different regions and families in China will prefer different dishes, but usually the must-haves include dumplings and fish
2) Red Pockets （红包） and bowing down to parents/seniors
红包
(hóng bāo)
After a scrumptious meal, children wait anxiously for their favorite part of this festival. Parents and other family relatives put money in cute red envelopes, usually embroidered with gold designs and text.
Usually, before the parents pass down the envelopes to their children, they expect the children to 'bai nián' and wish fortune and good health to their elders. (Cup your two hands into a fist and bow down while shaking your fists up and down with your elbows out)
The money is also called ya sui (money to anchor one's years) and is considered "lucky money"
Along with red envelopes, children may receive new clothes, toys, books, etc.
The origin behind red pockets:
A monster called " 祟 " (sui) would come every new years eve to make children ill by touching their heads. Scared for their newborn child, a couple prayed to the gods and received coins to give to the child. When falling asleep, the child placed the coins next to his pillow. When Sui came again, it was scared off by the brightness of the coins.
So from then on parents gave money to their children!
3) Cleaning the house- every tiny speck of it
Hate chores? You'll be in for a real treat in the days preparing for the Chinese New Year. Cleaning up the house is said to get rid of the old and start anew. Plus, when guests come over, you want the house to be spotless!
4) Upside down sign
This one is quite a funny play on words. On every family's door, you'll see an upside-down 'fú' (福) sign. Don't be so quick to think that everyone lost their sense of direction, this is on purpose!
When describing something upside down, you use the word 'dào'. So when relatives knock at your door or people walk by, they can say 'fú dào le!' (Fu is upside down), which also sounds like 'fú dào le' (Fortune arrived!)
5) Lots of luck needed! The myth of the dragon-
The origin of this festival is actually more than just a family reunion. Instead, it comes from a very interesting myth that includes a dragon-like monster.
In ancient times, there was a monster called Nian that came up every new year's festival to eat animals and people. On this day, the villagers would rush up to the mountains. One year, a beggar came to the village and was luckily taken in by a woman while everyone else rushed away. He began decorating the house with red and hung up signs, while at night releasing firecrackers. The monster was frightened by the noise and all the flashes of red and so left the villagers alone 1
So to this day, people use the color red to scare off the monster and also bring luck. That's why you'll also hear a lot of firecrackers going off at night. In a lot of street parades, you'll see a dragon costume carried about.
Source:
1. “Chinese New Year Myths – Chinese New Year 2020.” Chinese New Year 2018, chinesenewyear.net/myths/.
5) Chūn wán
On Chinese New Year, everyone gathers around the television to watch an extremely popular show broadcasted on CCTV to kickstart the new year. Ranging from comedic skits to dances and singing, there is something for everyone in the family to enjoy!
For Chinese intermediate/advanced learners out there, this is probably the best way to immerse yourself in the culture and practice your Chinese!
Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZD59M_4dOk
6) Zodiac
Do you identify as a Scorpio? Or an Aries? What about a rat?
The Chinese have their own zodiac and is what determines each year's "animal"
It works just like most other zodiacs: a 12-year cycle with each year designated an animal, starting from the rat and ending with the ox and starting over again
Let me explain:
There's a myth that the king invited 12 animals to compete in a race on his birthday to create the order of Chinese Zodiac. There are different versions of the tale, but in general, it began with the rat. When it got to the river, it wasn't able to cross over because of his small size and inability to swim.
At the riverbank, however, was the ox, tiger, and tiger. Wanting to finish first, the horse and tiger refused to help. Only the kind ox chipped in and offered the rat a ride across the river. The rat jumped off the ox and reached the finish line first with the ox being second and the tiger third. Behind them was the rabbit, jumping from log to log and finishing 4th.
Surprisingly, the dragon came in 5th though it could fly. Being kind-hearted, the dragon helped some villagers extinguish their fires along the way. Right when the horse was about to finish 6th, the sneaky snake slithered in front and scared the horse. Thus, the snake finished 6th and the horse 7th.
Meanwhile, the rooster, monkey,and sheep worked together to get themselves through the river on a raft. They decided to give sheep 8th place, monkey 9th and chicken 10th. The dog came in 11th. Though a good swimmer, it was tempted to relax and float along lazily in the river. Finally, the pig came last because it felt hungry in the middle of the race (of course). Thus comes the saying "lazy little pig" The lineup of the animals created the order in the Chinese zodiac.
There is another version with the cat. The cat and rat were actually good friends and agreed to win the race together. However, when riding on the ox together, the cunning rat pushed the cat off. The cat, being an awful swimmer, couldn't make it to the finish line. Ever since, the cat hated the rat, which explains the animosity between these two animals today.
Other versions say that the rat simply didn't alert the cat about the race, so the cat missed out in that way.
Watch the story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=may2s9j4RLk&t=23s
Or in Chinese:
Fun fact: The interesting thing is that the Chinese people are so familiar with this system that they can calculate your age just by knowing your zodiac animal! For example, if you were a middle-aged boy in 2020 and your animal was a rat, then we can assume you were born in 2008 because 1996 would make you too old and it wouldn't make sense if you were born in 2032 because it's only 2020! So your age would probably be 12. Cool right?
7) Words and phrases you'll see used over and over again
福
fù
Luck- you'll see this word posted almost everywhere so it's definitely one to note!
拜年
(bàinián)
Literal translation: Pay a visit for the new years
In the past, people would go from home to home, knocking on doors and wishing neighbors/friends a happy new year. Times have changed, but we still say this when face timing relatives or calling friends.
新年快乐
(xin nián kuài le)
Happy New Year!
恭喜发财-
(gong xi fā cái)
恭喜- gong xi (blessing, wish)
发财-fa cai (spread wealth)
Meaning: may you prosper in wealth this year!
身体健康-
(shen ti jiàn kāng)
Wish you good health! (usually said to elders)
万事如意-
(wàn shi rú yi)
wàn shi- everything
rú yi- as one wants
Meaning: May everything go to the way you want!
8) A time for friends and family to come together
This holiday is not complete without your loved ones by your side! Relatives from all around the country come to spend these few days with family. In fact, people say it's the largest migration in the world! For those who can't, WeChat is a popular communication platform to use. (In fact, you can even exchange red pockets on WeChat!)
I hope you enjoyed this post! I definitely learned a lot of new things about my culture that I never knew before!
Recommended site for people who want to learn more: https://chinesenewyear.net/
Please leave a like and comment (It was a pain in the butt to copy and paste all the pinyin)
Also I have an Instagram account now! (https://www.instagram.com/claireslanguages/)
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