The Chinese New Year is all about bringing good luck and prosperity to you and your loved ones and in China the rituals associated with this time of the year last for 15 days.
The celebrations start with the traditional Chinese New Year’s Eve family dinner and conclude with the Lantern festival. Lion dances, sumptuous food and fireworks enliven the festivities throughout the two weeks.
The Invitations
Handwrite your invitations with gold or black ink on red rice paper. Tie the invite with a gold ribbon or a bead cord with a Chinese Zodiac charm attached to commemorate 2008, the year of the Rat.
The Décor
Red is an important colour during this holiday as it symbolizes luck and happiness, as well as scares away evil spirits and bad fortune. Gold is also important: it represents wealth and power. Decorate your home with lights and red lanterns. Display items in even numbers like 8 since it sounds like the word for “fortune” in the Chinese language. Adorn your home with flowers such as plum blossoms, water narcissus, peonies and chrysanthemums and write out and hang spring couplets to cover both sides and across the lintel of your front door. Spring couplets are poetic good wishes of prosperity and longevity and you can often find them in Chinatown or on the internet.
The Menu
A symbolic Chinese New Year menu is served with lots of chicken and fish. Foods are selected because they sound like a word referring to prosperity, longevity or good luck.
It is customary to host a dumpling-making party a week or two before the festivities with a few coins hidden in the corner of each dumpling. Whoever eats the dumpling with a coin on Chinese New Year will enjoy a very lucky year indeed!
Spring rolls resemble gold bars; so they are believed to bring wealth. Lettuce is associated with rising fortune which is why lettuce wraps are often served. Since the length of noodles refers to longevity, you should never cut your noodles.
Often a whole fish is served with the head and tail symbolizing the year’s beginning and end.
Here are some suggestions for creating your own Chinese New Year menu:
Appetizers:
Entrées:
Dessert:
The Party Favours
Prepare small red packets filled with pocket money (Hong Bao) for the kids and young adults. Present friends and loved ones with tangerines, oranges and flowering teas, which represent wealth and happiness. When preparing the candy tray, serve eight kinds of treats in a round or octagonal tray.
Gung Hey Fat Choy… Happy New Year and be prosperous!