The new year begins according to the lunar calendar – starting on the New Moon and ending on the full moon 15 days later. The last day is marked by a Lantern Festival, with lanterns carried through the middle of town in a parade. Chinese New Year's usually happens either at the end of January or sometime in the middle of February. It is Feb . 18 this year.
I was always much more excited about Chinese New Year's than Christmas or the western New Year because it lasted longer and required us to visit "open houses" where you could drop in your friends and family and eat to your heart's content.
SUPERSTITIONS
Many rituals mark Chinese New Year's. For instance, you must clean the house prior to the first day of the new year – i.e. sweeping out the old. But you must NEVER sweep or clean on the first day because it would clear out any good luck. Also, never wash your hair on the first day, either. Firecrackers are set off on New Year's Eve to welcome in the new year.
Because the first day can influence the rest of your year, people tend to stay away from negative behaviour. That includes refraining from swearing, never talking about death, ghost stories are verboten and references to the previous year are also shunned. You should think good thoughts and try to be happy and please, do not cry!
Red is an important colour in Chinese culture and is doubly so on New Year's Day. It symbolizes wealth, happiness and life. Most importantly, avoid the colour white (in clothing and food) as it signifies death.
Best of all, children (and those who are unmarried) are given little red envelopes of money! (this beats Halloween for me).
FUNDAMENTAL FOODS
Certain foods are eaten during this time. For instance, noodles for longevity and fish for success and sometime near the end of the two-week period, after you've eaten all that rich and flavourful food, you have a meal of congee and mustard greens to cleanse your system.
Traditionally, on the first day, families stay close and enjoy a vegetarian meal with lots of root vegetables. Certain foods represent specific things. Black moss seaweed will bring enormous wealth while lotus seeds will bless the family with male babies.
After the veggie feast, lots of chicken is eaten too. It must be presented whole, to represent completeness.
My mother says the chicken is always steamed or boiled because of some Buddhist tradition. On top of that, you have to bring cooked chicken to the graveyard to visit your ancestors and to offer it to them. Then, you bring it home to eat (I find it rather macabre).
In southern China, sweet steamed glutinous rice pudding is served. The Northern custom of serving dumplings has also been widely adopted. The dumplings look like gold nuggets that were wrapped and used in ancient times. As well, there are lots of Mandarin oranges as the colour reminds people of gold.
A variety of dishes are offered, mostly because their shape, colour or sound resembles something good. Some great Chinese New Year's recipes include: steamed whole fish, stir-fried pea shoots, Year of the Pig dumplings and cashew cookies.
By the way, it's the Year of the Pig and I'll have more about Chinese astrology in my later articles as well as recipes.
Gong hei fat choi ! (Cantonese for "Congratulations and Be Prosperous")
