What Does the Lunar New Year Celebrate?

What Does the Lunar New Year Celebrate?

The Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is a 15-day celebration of culture and traditions that marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle. It is celebrated by more than 1.5 billion people worldwide, ranging from China to Southeast Asia and throughout the Western world.

Traditionally, the New Year was the time of year when people gathered to honor their ancestors and deities. It also served as a time of family reunions, says the Smithsonian’s Asian Art Museum in Washington D.C.

Many of these ancient customs continue to exist today. One of the most popular is the annual gathering on the eve of the New Year, when family members gather for a dinner to give their respects to the ancestors and household deities.

It is a time of feasting, eating a variety of delicious food and expressing gratitude for the past year. It is believed that these meals bring luck and prosperity for the upcoming year.

Some of the most common dishes during the New Year include noodles, fruit, dumplings and tangyuan (sweet rice balls). Noodles are thought to bring longevity and good fortune; fruits, especially oranges, are said to be full and golden. Dumplings are a symbol of wealth, so they are eaten often during the holiday.

Red is the color of good fortune in Chinese culture, and red envelopes are given as gifts during the New Year. In some countries, such as Vietnam, people are encouraged to eat a lot of oranges and red foods because they believe this will bring them luck in the New Year.

Fish is another key ingredient in Chinese New Year meals, and steamed fish is often served as part of the meal. It is considered a sign of prosperity, as well as abundance, and can bring good luck in the new year, according to Time magazine.

Several types of meat are also popular during the holiday, including pork and chicken. Pigeons and geese are a staple during the New Year, as they symbolize wealth, and roasted birds are also a traditional dish in China, according to the Smithsonian’s Asian Art museum.

Other traditional foods during the New Year include yusheng, a raw fish salad that is eaten for wealth and prosperity. It is tossed and topped with green onion, which is known to attract good luck and health in Chinese culture.

In South Korea, it is a tradition to eat sliced rice cake soup, which is known as tteokguk, for the New Year. It is usually prepared with five different kinds of grains, which represent the five elements of earth, fire, water, wood and metal in traditional Chinese astrology.

It is also common to eat mandarin oranges during the Chinese New Year, as they are round and gold in color, which are symbolic of wealth and prosperity. Mandarin oranges are also sometimes given to children at the start of the year, as a gesture of good luck and blessings for their future.