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A Chinese New Year snack tray isn’t complete without candied fruits like winter melon. These treats symbolize a good start and end to the year. Aside from candied fruits, candied lotus roots are also typical Chinese New Year snacks. 6. Red Dates. Red dates, or hong zao, carry the symbolism of prosperity and success. Specifically speaking, the Candies: During the Lunar New Year holiday, children (and adults) are actually encouraged to binge on sugar. According to tradition, candies symbolize the sweetness of life. At the heart of Chinese New Year candy traditions is the “Tray of Togetherness” or “Chinese candy box” (全盒, chuen hup). This decorative box, typically round or octagonal, contains various sweets and snacks. Each item in the tray has a symbolic meaning, often based on wordplay or appearance. Symbolism in Chinese New Year Candy China Highlights will introduce you to some top Chinese New Year snacks that you might find in every family home when you pay a New Year visit. 1. Red Dates — Wealth and Prosperity. Red is a lucky color in China, meaning booming and prosperous. Dates (枣 zǎo) have the same pronunciation as "early" (早 zǎo), meaning a head start. The last stop on our little Chinese New Year food and meaning tour is candy. But before you put your kid’s dentist on speed-dial, candy in Chinese culture doesn’t have to be cavity-inducing. Here are 8 (because: luck!) examples of fortune candies that you can try, some of which you can find at any grocery store and others at a local Asian The colourful, multi-compartment box filled with sweets, fruits, nuts and seeds is a fixture in Chinese households during Lunar New Year, but what do the different snacks symbolise, and what Let's delve into the numbers, particularly the surge in “dragon babies”. In 2024, during the Year of the Dragon, China witnessed a 5.7% year-on-year increase in births, with South Korea seeing a 3% rise. These spikes are noteworthy, considering both nations are grappling with declining birth rates. 5. 年花 (New Year Flowers) Symbolism: New Year flowers such as 桃花 (peach blossoms), 富贵竹 (lucky bamboo), and 桔子树 (tangerine trees) represent growth, prosperity, and good luck. Each flower carries its own specific auspicious meaning. Application: These flowers are used to decorate homes and offices during Chinese New Year. For "To prevent him from badmouthing their house, people offered nian gao, which would stick his mouth shut. Hence, nian gao is prepared for offering before Chinese New Year." 10. Leafy Greens: For Wealth Chinese New Year, also known in China as the Spring Festival, is the most important festival in the country, symbolising a farewell to the old, the ushering in of the new and the renewal of all Chinese New Year Candy Box. Also known as the “Tray of Togetherness”, these trays are round (to symbolize to togetherness), red (to symbolize good luck), and have either 6 or 8 compartments (6 and 8 are considered lucky numbers) of different candied fruit, each with their own special meaning. I never understood the significance of the Chinese New Year Candy Box a.k.a. Tray of Togetherness until much later in life. It is strange how little things I took for granted because they were there each and every year we celebrated the Chinese New Year in Malaysia were missed when we moved to the United States. With the evolution of times, the contents of the "Chinese candy box" are nothing more than the candies and snacks that the host family likes. However, in the old times, every snack in the "Chinese candy box" has its own implication, adding up to all the auspicious things are gathered in this box. A Chinese candy box (全 盒, or chuen hup/zan hup) is a traditional box used during Chinese New Year for storing candy and other edible goods. Its existence dates as far back as the Ming Dynasty in 1567. [1] The box usually has a lid; some are more fancy and elaborate than others. In Chinese, "fish" (鱼 Yú /yoo/) sounds like 'surplus'. Fish is a traditional Chinese New Year dish on the Chinese New Year dinner menu. Chinese people always like to have a surplus at the end of the year, because they think if they have managed to save something at the end of the year, then they can make more in the next year. Chinese New Year is a rich celebration that happens yearly each winter to kick off the New Year in the Chinese astrological calendar. Each year is represented by an animal. 2025, for example, was the Year of the Snake, an animal that represents introspection, strategic planning and personal growth. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in Chinese culture. The most important meal of the year is the New Year’s Eve reunion dinner (年夜饭 / Nián yèfàn or 团年饭 tuán niánfàn). No matter where they live, all family members must return to their hometown. Dumplings Caitriana Nicholson/Flickr. Resembling coin purses, dumplings are said to bring wealth and prosperity in Chinese culture. Traditionally filled with a mixture of meat, tofu, egg, and/or Celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, also called the Spring Festival, with these traditional sweet treats. Sharing sweet things, like cookies, candy, and fruits symbolizes wishes for blessings and good fortune in the coming year. Use the guide below to select traditional foods from a Chinese market and add other contemporary choices like brightly-colored Chinese New Year candies, fruit chews or gummy candies. I enjoy stopping by the bulk bins at Whole Foods to select a few organic or Western favorites.
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