Learn more about the seven most popular food consumed in China during the Spring Festival each year. These food believed by tradition to bring you good luck, longevity, health and wealth for the upcoming year. After reading we hope you can try and taste some of these food.

1) The dumpling is a traditional lucky food in China and enjoys worldwide popularity now. With a history of 1,800 years, it is not only a staple food of people in Northern China, but also an essential dish in various festivals, especially in Chinese New Year.

Dumplings are often eaten on the New Year's Eve for its Chinese name 'jiaozi' has a meaning of changing of years.

 Flavor: salty
 Cooking Methods: boil or steam

 Meanings:
– symbol of wealth for its shape like an ancient Chinese gold ingot.
– Lucky coins will be hidden in dumplings and someone who discovers them can get the best of luck and great wealth in the coming year.

 Different fillings of dumplings have different meanings:
– Celery, qincai in Chinese, means hardworking leads to wealthy life.
– Leek, jiucai in Chinese, means everlasting affluence.
– Cabbage, baicai in Chinese, refers to a hundred ways of making a fortune.

2) Referring to the Chinese New Year food ideas, fish is an indispensable dish on the reunion dinner.

Fish has its Chinese pronunciation as 'Yu', which means surplus and fortune. So there is a blessing speech as 'Nian Nian You Yu' in Chinese which means that 'May you have surpluses and bountiful harvests every year.' What's more, in ancient China, fish was also regarded having a function of exorcising.

 Flavor: salty
 Cooking Methods: steam or braise

 Different kinds of fish represent different meanings:
– Chinese mud carp: Its Chinese name 'li' means gifts, so eating it can bring people good luck and blessing.
– Crucian carp: Its Chinese name 'ji' means very good fortune.
– Catfish: The Chinese name is 'nianyu', literally meaning 'year surplus' and standing for a rich life.

 Some rules of eating fish in Chinese New Year:
1. Don't turn over the fish after you have finished eating one side. In Chinese culture, it means unlucky.
2. To show respect, the head of fish needs to be placed toward elders or distinguished guests.
3. In southern China, some people just eat the middle part of the fish on the New Year Eve, leaving the head and tail to the next day to symbolize completeness.

3) Glutinous Rice Balls, aka Tangyuan and Yuanxiao, is a lucky food during the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Festival). However, in many places of Southern China, it is also a Chinese New Year food. Unlike dumplings, the dough of Tangyuan is made by glutinous rice powder with the stuffing such as bean paste, brown sugar and all kinds of fruits and nuts.

 There are two kinds of Glutinous Rice Balls:
– Tangyuan in south China: Make the wrappers first, fill in the stuffing, and then knead them into balls.
– Yuanxiao in north China: Filling is divided into small balls first, and put into a sifter with flour. Shake the sifter to let the flour stick onto the balls.

 Flavor: sweet
 Cooking Method: boil
 Meaning: The round shape represents completeness and family reunion.

4) There is no doubt that Longevity noodles are a special food for Chinese New Year. They are usually eaten on important festivals or one's birthday, especially for old people. Eating longevity noodles in the New Year symbolizes that everything is going to be smooth in the coming year.

 Flavor: salty; some sour and spicy
 Cooking Method: boil
 Tip: The longevity noodle is made by one single and continuous noodle. You must eat it from the beginning to the end and don't break it while eating, or the good wish will be broken.

5) Wonton is also a kind of lucky dish you can find in the Chinese New Year food list. Like dumplings, Wontons are popular during the Chinese New Year because of the shape, which is like a Chinese silver ingot.

 Flavor: salty
 Cooking Method: boil
 Meaning: People believe that eating wontons can bring wealth and treasure. On the other hand, Wonton in Chinese has similar pronunciation with "Hundun", which means the beginning. Eating Wontons in the New Year symbolize a wish of a good start.

6) It is obvious to see from the name Spring Rolls that it is a food to welcome the spring so it's very common to enjoy them during the Spring Festival.

Fresh vegetables or ingredients in spring time are wrapped inside and people eat it to welcome a new spring. Now it has also become a dessert in some places in the reunion dinner.

 Flavor: both sweet and salty
 Cooking Method: fry
 Meaning: The golden appearance shows the wealth and treasure, which also means a fresh start.

7) As one of the traditional Chinese New Year foods, Glutinous Rice Cake with a history of 1,500 years was originally used to worship the gods and ancestors.

Widely eaten in different parts of China, it is made of glutinous rice powder but varies in ingredients and flavors – jujube Niangao and white Niangao in Beijing, yellow rice cake in Shanxi, water mill rice cake in Ningbo, Guangdong Niangao with brown sugar, and fried Niangao with ribs in Shanghai.

 Flavor: both sweet and salty
 Cooking Method: steam, fry, boil for soup
 Meaning: The Chinese pronunciation of the Cake, Niangao, has a homophonous meaning of 'increasing prosperity year after year', which gives people new hope of a rising performance in career and study.

LEARN ABOUT THE CHINESE SPRING FESTIVAL

The Spring Festival is an annual event held in China and in Chinese communities around the world. This massive event takes place on different dates each year, but it typically begins during the beginning of February and continues until the middle of the same month.

The date changes for the Spring Festival are attributed to the fact that the holiday is based off of the lunar calendar instead of the solar calendar. This is a time of the year that is characterised by happy gatherings and close family interaction. The Chinese Spring Festival has an extensive history that represents the rich culture of the Middle Kingdom.

History
The Chinese Spring Festival dates back to the beginning of the Shang Dynasty about 4000 years ago. During this time, the Spring Festival began as a tradition of respect to ancestors and deities during the close and beginning of years. In order to prepare for this festival, people clean every part of their homes and bodies. This ritual of spring cleaning is a tradition that continues in most parts of China even in today.

Deity worship is also carried out, but to a lesser degree than it did in China's past. This is now closer associated with holiday tradition than it is with actual religious practice. When China's economy became heavily involved in agricultural production, the Spring Festival began to be celebrated for the incoming warm weather and planting of crops.

In addition to the celebration of deities and ancestors, there are also legends and wise tales linked to the celebration of the Spring Festival. The most popular tale is about the nian (年) monster and the closing of the year. According to Chinese legend, the nian was a beast that devoured animals and humans for every day of the year. After it was discovered that the yearly monster could be driven away with the color red, people used red excessively for the first two weeks of the new year. Red is now a lucky color that is used in clothing and fireworks during the Spring festival. The color red is expected to drive away the nian monster and bring good fortune for the year ahead.

Traditions
In addition to using red in clothing, decorations, and fireworks, there are also many other traditions associated with the legends and history surrounding the Spring Festival. In accordance with cleaning the home and body, new clothing is often bought prior to the festival. Family elders also give children money in a red purse or envelope. In return, children show great respect and appreciation to the elders and ancestors.

There are a few things that are forbidden during the Spring Festival. In general, people are not allowed to speak of illness, death, or other things with a negative connotation during the beginning of the new year. It also forbidden to use the unlucky number four, or si (四) unless it is absolutely necessary. When spoken, four sounds similar to the word for death, so it is considered to be an omen for misfortune.

During the Spring Festival, there are a range of greetings that can be used to express good tidings to friends, families, and strangers. The traditional greeting for the Chinese New Year is guonian hao (过年好). This is a phrase used to celebrate the passing of the year. Although this is a more contemporary phrase that is used mainly by young people, xinnian kuaile (新年快乐) is also used in urban centers such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. This phrase is a literal translation of the Western greeting of 'happy new year'. Both of these phrases can be used to politely wish people a good Spring Festival, but guonian hao is more authentic than xinnian kuaile.

Celebrations
As with any great celebratory event, the Chinese Spring Festival is holiday with many entertaining activities for people of many ages. During the half month-long festival, Chinese and people from across the world can experience dragon dances, grand fireworks displays, street festivals, crafts, parties, live music, and many other events.

On the final day of the festival, or the 15th day of the first lunar month, a lantern festival is held. Families and organizations from across China and Chinese communities place lanterns along the street for people to enjoy. Some lanterns are simple while others are quite elaborate. Some people also hang riddles along the streets for visitors to solve. If a person can solve the riddle, he or she goes to the owner of the riddle to collect a prize. Prizes usually come in the form of small trinkets, baked goods, or candy.

Also read about the seven most popular Chinese food consumed during the Spring Festival, these believed to bring longevity, health, wealth and good luck for the next year.

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Do you agree that martial arts should be in films or TV or like many traditional practitioners, instructors and master do you believe martial arts should be reserved for being taught in schools privately. And what do you think how martial arts in films differ from real life?

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