Enjoy these 10 traditional Chinese New Year treats for good fortune!
During the Lunar New Year, every household will prepare a lot of delicious food. Here are 10 kinds of Lunar New Year foods shared with you. Let’s feel the beauty of the New Year together!
10 Chinese New Year Treats
Dumpling
In northern China, dumplings are the absolute protagonist on the New Year's table. Dumplings are shaped like gold ingots, which symbolizes wealth and fortune. During the New Year, the whole family sits together to make dumplings, creating a festive atmosphere. In some places, coins are even put into the dumplings, and those who eat them will have good luck in the new year.
Rice cake
Rice cake is also an indispensable food during the Lunar New Year. The "gao" in rice cake is homophonic with "gao", which means high, symbolizing the continuous rise in life and career. Rice cake is mainly made by steaming glutinous rice flour and then adding red dates, bean paste, etc. It has a soft, sweet taste, and every bite is full of expectations for the new year.
Fish
Fish is a common dish on the New Year's Eve dinner table, as "fish" and "surplus" have the same pronunciation, representing surplus every year. The most common dishes are steamed sea bass and braised carp. Generally speaking, fish is always present in the New Year's Eve dinner, and fish will not be eaten up. Leaving fish behind means a prosperous life and surplus every year.
Sweet dumpling
In southern Chinese cities, glutinous rice balls are a common food. They are white, plump and round, super cute, and there are many kinds of glutinous rice balls, with sesame filling, peanut filling, etc. They taste sweet and symbolize reunion. The whole family sits around eating glutinous rice balls, and the sense of happiness in the New Year is maximized.
Spring Rolls
Spring rolls are also an indispensable food. They are mainly made of thin dough wrapped with bean sprouts, leeks, shredded pork and other ingredients, fried until golden and crispy, and "crunch" when bitten. They represent the welcome of spring and imply that the new year is full of vitality and hope.
Bacon
In China, bacon is a must-have for many families during the Chinese New Year. It is pickled and smoked, with a unique flavor and a salty and delicious taste. It can be eaten directly in slices, or fried with garlic sprouts and green peppers. It is full of fireworks and is a unique taste in the memory of the New Year.
Eight Treasure Rice
Eight Treasure Rice Pudding is made of glutinous rice, lotus seeds, red dates, longan and other ingredients. Each ingredient has a good meaning, such as lotus seeds for continuous childbearing and red dates for prosperity. It tastes sweet and soft, and is a delicious and auspicious New Year dessert.
Braised Pork Trotters
Braised pig's trotters is a very delicious food and a classic dish on the New Year's table. It is fat but not greasy, soft and tasty. Pig's trotters are also called "money-scratching hands", which means that you can grasp wealth and have good fortune in the new year. It is a hard dish full of good wishes.
Four-joy meatballs
Four Joy Meatballs are usually made of pork and are large and round. They represent happiness, wealth, longevity and joy, which represent the four great joys of life. Eating them during the Chinese New Year brings good luck and hopes for continuous joy in the new year.
Sugar Melon
Sugar melon is mainly related to the custom of worshipping the Kitchen God. Legend has it that on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will report his work to heaven, so people use sugar melon to stick the Kitchen God's mouth shut to make him say more good things. Sugar melon is sweet and crispy, and tastes like childhood, and is also a symbol of sweetness in the New Year.
What sweets are eaten at Chinese New Year?
There are many sweets that can be eaten during the Lunar New Year. The following three are the most common:
Rice cake
Rice cake is a classic New Year dessert. Made from glutinous rice flour, it has a soft and sticky texture. You can make it into red date rice cake, which has the sweetness of red dates blended into the rice cake, making it sweet and delicious; there is also osmanthus rice cake, which has the fragrance of osmanthus, sweet but not greasy, implying that life will be better and sweeter every year.
Sweet dumpling
There are many kinds of rolled glutinous rice balls. The most common one is the black sesame glutinous rice balls. The black sesame filling flows out when you bite it, and it is fragrant and sweet. Fruit glutinous rice balls are also great, such as those with strawberry filling, which are sour and sweet, full of the taste of happiness, and symbolize reunion and sweetness.
Eight Treasure Rice
Eight Treasure Rice is steamed with glutinous rice, lotus seeds, red dates, longan, red bean paste, sugar, etc. Glutinous rice itself is soft, sweet and fragrant, and paired with a variety of sweet ingredients, it tastes rich and sweet to the heart, representing a colorful, sweet and happy life.
What are the 7 lucky food for Chinese New Year?
Fish
Eating fish during the Chinese New Year symbolizes "abundance every year". Whether it is steamed fish or braised fish, it is always on the New Year's Eve dinner table, representing a rich life and surplus wealth and food every year.
The shape of dumplings is like a gold ingot, which means "bringing in wealth and treasure". Dumplings can be filled with various fillings. The whole family makes dumplings together, which symbolizes reunion and happiness. It is a traditional auspicious food for the New Year.
Rice cake
The homonym of "nian gao" means that people's lives and careers are getting better and better every year. It has a soft and sticky texture, can be sweet or salty, and can be cooked in a variety of ways. It is a very popular food for the New Year.
Sweet dumpling
The round glutinous rice balls represent reunion and perfection. They are soft, sticky and sweet. Eating them during the New Year symbolizes the reunion of the family, a sweet and happy life, and eternal happiness.
Chicken
Chicken is homophonic with “吉”, which means good luck. Boiled chicken and roasted chicken are commonly eaten during the Chinese New Year, symbolizing peace and prosperity in the new year.
Tangerine
The orange is golden in color, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. The Chinese character for "orange" sounds similar to the Chinese character for "lucky," which means good luck. During the Chinese New Year, people eat oranges, hoping that the new year will be filled with good luck and blessings.
Spring Rolls
It represents the arrival of spring and has the beautiful meaning of a new year full of vitality and renewal. With its crispy skin and rich filling, it tastes delicious and is a perfect New Year delicacy.
What do you give a child for Chinese New Year?
There are many gifts that can be given to children during the Chinese New Year. I suggest that you determine the gifts according to the children's preferences, so that the children will like them more:
If your child likes reading, you can give him a set of classic children's literature, such as "The Little Prince" and "Charlotte's Web", which can not only cultivate reading habits, but also enrich their spiritual world and let them feel love and courage in the books.
If they love painting, then brushes, sketchbooks and high-quality paints are the right choice. Encourage them to create freely and draw all the wonderful ideas in their minds.
For children who like to do things with their hands, educational building blocks and scientific experiment kits are good choices. Playing with building blocks can exercise spatial thinking, and experiment kits can stimulate interest in science and help them learn and grow through exploration.
If your child is interested in music, small musical instruments such as the ukulele are very suitable. They are easy to carry and easy to play, allowing them to start their musical journey and enjoy the joy of playing.
If your child likes sports, a pair of comfortable sports shoes, or a skipping rope or skateboard can encourage them to exercise more, improve their physical fitness and release their energy.
If your child likes electronic products, you can choose a learning tablet and set the learning mode so that your child can consolidate knowledge during the holidays and protect his eyesight.
If children like dolls, then cute plush dolls will definitely make them happy. Holding a soft doll will make them feel super safe.
In addition, I will prepare some New Year red envelopes with auspicious amounts of money in them, so that the children can feel the festive atmosphere of the New Year and can use the money freely and learn how to manage their finances.
What is the theme of the Chinese New Year in 2025?
2025 is the Year of the Snake in the lunar calendar, also known as the "Year of the Green Snake". According to the Chinese calendar, Yi corresponds to wood, representing spring and the color green, and Si corresponds to the snake in the Chinese zodiac, so 2025 is called the "Year of the Green Snake".
In addition, 2025 is a double spring year, that is, there are two Beginning of Spring solar terms in one year, on February 3, 2025 and February 4, 2026, which is considered a double blessing from nature.
Do and don'ts on Lunar New Year?
There are many things to do and not do during the Lunar New Year. Let me tell you about them:
Things to do
Spring cleaning: Before the New Year, you must do a thorough spring cleaning, cleaning the house from top to bottom, inside and out. This means sweeping away the dust and bad luck of the past year, welcoming the new year with a brand new look, and also implies a clean and smooth new year.
Pasting Spring Festival couplets and hanging lanterns: On New Year's Eve, red Spring Festival couplets and the word "Fu" should be pasted, and festive lanterns should be hung. The words on the Spring Festival couplets imply good luck, and the word "Fu" pasted upside down has a beautiful homophonic meaning of "Fu has arrived". Lanterns can add a strong festive atmosphere, making the home full of the flavor of the New Year, which looks particularly festive and can also bring good luck to the whole family.
Prepare the New Year's Eve dinner: The New Year's Eve dinner is the highlight of the New Year, so it must be carefully prepared. The family sits together, eats a sumptuous meal, talks about the interesting things in the past year, and looks forward to the new year. What a warm and happy moment. The New Year's Eve dinner must include fish, which symbolizes surplus every year; dumplings, which imply wealth and treasure; and glutinous rice balls, which represent a happy family reunion. Each dish is full of good wishes for the new year.
New Year's greetings: Starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, people will visit relatives and friends to pay New Year's greetings. When you see the elders, you should take the initiative to greet them and say some auspicious blessings, such as "Happy New Year", "I wish you good health", "All the best", etc. This is not only a courtesy, but also inherits the traditional virtue of our Chinese nation of respecting the elderly and loving the young, and can also enhance the relationship between relatives and friends.
Giving out red envelopes: Giving out red envelopes to younger generations is also an essential part of the New Year. Red envelopes represent the elders’ blessings and care for the younger generations, implying the wish for the children to grow up safely and healthily. Children will also be very happy to receive red envelopes, and feel that the New Year is more meaningful.
What not to do
Don't say unlucky words: During the Lunar New Year, you should say more auspicious words. Don't say unlucky words like "death", "illness" and "bad luck". Everyone hopes that the new year will be smooth and safe. Saying these words will make people feel uncomfortable and feel unlucky, so you must pay attention to your words.
Don’t beat or scold your children: New Year is a festive day, and we should be harmonious and happy. No matter what mistakes your children make, don’t beat or scold them during the New Year, otherwise it will destroy the festive atmosphere, make the children unhappy, and affect everyone’s mood for the New Year. If there are any problems, you can wait until after the New Year to educate them slowly.
No sweeping and trashing: You cannot sweep the floor and trash on the first day of the Lunar New Year, because this day is considered the day when the God of Wealth comes in. If you sweep the floor and trash, it's like sweeping away all the wealth, so try to wait until the second day of the Lunar New Year to sweep. Of course, this is more of a traditional custom and a beautiful meaning, but since it's the Lunar New Year, you should follow the local customs.
Don’t borrow money to collect debts: During the New Year, generally don’t borrow money from others, and don’t collect debts. Everyone hopes to have a good start in the New Year. Borrowing money may make others think that your financial situation is not good, which is unlucky; and collecting debts will make both parties unhappy and destroy the peaceful atmosphere of the New Year. Therefore, it is better to wait until after the New Year to have financial dealings.
Don’t go to bed early: There is a custom of staying up late on New Year’s Eve. The whole family should stay up late, or even all night. Staying up late means cherishing time and wishing the elders a healthy and long life. So on this day, try not to go to bed early, stay up late with your family to welcome the arrival of the New Year.
