The auspicious symbolism of these traditional Chinese New Year foods is based on their pronunciations or appearance. Not only do the dishes themselves matter, but also the preparation, and ways of serving and eating mean a lot. The most common Chinese New Year foods include dumplings, fish, spring rolls, and niangao. We've rounded up 12 The Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is the most important festival in China: it lasts up to two weeks and is the only time of the year when China shuts down. Unlike Western countries, the Chinese New Year generally falls between January 21st and February 20th in the Gregorian calendar, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Also called Spring Festival in most of mainland China, Lunar New Year begins on the night of the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar, which is a bit shorter than the 365-day solar year. The 16-day festival season is celebrated with lots of traditional Chinese New Year foods that are prepared, served and eaten in symbolic ways. As with any great holiday, the Chinese New Year is full of delicious food. Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner is called “reunion dinner,” meant to be celebrated surrounded by multiple generations Niangao (Chinese New Year Cake) Niangao, the sticky rice cake , emerges as a culinary metaphor-laden with auspicious meanings. Associated with growth, progress, and the anticipation of a higher income, its name echoes the desire for “increasing prosperity year after year.” Here are 22 Chinese New Year traditional foods for you to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year in 2024. Table of Contents. Dumplings (饺子 / 餃子) The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a time of joy, family reunions, and, of course, indulging in delicious food. Each dish served during this festive period carries a special meaning, symbolizing prosperity, luck, and togetherness. You may think “Lunar New Year” and “Chinese New Year” refer to the same event. That’s not the case! The Lunar New Year celebration in South Korea or Vietnam looks different than a celebration of the Lunar New Year in China. The holidays take place on different dates, too. In 2025, China begins to celebrate its Lunar New Year on What To Eat for Chinese New Year 2025. Chinese new year is a time for dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls and plenty of noodles, but many other Chinese delicacies are popularly consumed throughout Chinese people eat foods with the symbols of good luck, prosperity, and happiness during the Chinese New Year. The lunar New Year 2025 is coming, try these traditional dishes with auspicious meanings and have good fortune in the new year. 1. Fish - Fortune and Abundance Chinese New Year food traditions are hugely symbolic. Traditions include serving two whole fish and saving one for leftovers to represent surplus in the new year, serving a whole chicken to represent wholeness and prosperity, and serving items like spring rolls, which resemble gold bars and symbolize wealth. Food is one of the things that the Chinese take the most pride in. And of course, a lot of care and thought is put into the menu for the most important holiday of the year. As with Chinese New Year activities and decorations, the dishes are created to give blessings for the next year. Toss your takeout menus—celebrate Chinese New Year with homemade recipes to bring you good luck, like dumplings, fortune cookies, and noodles. 30 Chinese New Year Foods That Will Bring You Another food you definitely want to put on your Chinese New Year food list for this Year of the Tiger is tang yuan — black sesame filled sweet rice balls that are typically served in a sweet soup. These little balls of joy symbolize a happy family reunion because their name sounds like a Chinese phrase for ‘reunion’ and ‘togetherness’. Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is a joyous celebration embraced by many Asian cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and others. Serious Eats / Fiona Reilly. In winter, a steaming cauldron of boiling water sits on every stove, ready to cook jiaozi at a moment's notice. Today, making dumplings together at Chinese New Year is a tradition shared by almost every Chinese family around the world, but the practice has its roots in China's north, where the wheat used in the tender dumpling skins (jiaozi pi) was once a more New Delhi: On Jan. 29, Asian American communities around the U.S. will ring in the Year of the Snake with community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, fireworks and other festivities. In many Asian countries, it is a festival that is celebrated for several days. In diaspora The Year of the Snake starts on January 29, when the Lunar New Year is celebrated in Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, South Korean, Taiwanese, Tibetan, and Vietnamese communities Celebrate Chinese New Year with symbolic foods that represent luck, prosperity, and happiness. Mark the occasion with traditional dishes like fish, dumplings, whole chicken, spring rolls, Chinese New Year cake, and sweet rice balls. SAN FRANCISCO -- The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is based on cycles of the moon and falls on a different day every year. In 2025, the Year of the Snake begins on Jan. 29. It
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