Celebrating Chinese New Yearpage 2 / 8
New Year's Feast
The New Year's Eve Feast is one of the most carefully orchestrated events during Chinese New Year. On New Year's Eve, family gathers to honor ancestors and to share an elaborate feast of typically either eight or nine different dishes. Both of these numbers are considered to be lucky numbers and each dish has symbolic meaning.
Here is what a typical Chinese New Year Feast might include:
• A whole chicken or duck that symbolizes happiness and a proper beginning and end to the year. Duck also represents fidelity while eggs mean fertility
• Dumplings or jiaozi, which symbolize prosperity and wealth because their shape is similar to ancient Chinese currency
Jiaozi
• Long noodles which symbolize long life
• Rice which brings well being and good fortune
• Shrimp or prawns for liveliness and happiness
• A whole fish symbolizes happiness and prosperity. This dish is often eaten last and is left unfinished so that happiness and prosperity may be carried into the new year.
• Any dish that includes lettuce is thought to bring growing good fortune.
• Oranges mean completeness and wholeness
Chinese New Year Feast