CNY is a celebration of Chinese heritage that has been practiced in the country for thousands of years, It has many customs and traditions that are observed different in other regions. This is perhaps one of the most endearing features of this festival of the preparation and exchange of good wishes in terms of food morsels. In this article, you will learn more about the types of CNY desserts, their symbolism, and how to select the most suitable ones for your household.
Chinese New Year is one fiesta that is all about family, reunion and to gather as one. Food here plays crucial roles of the main common denominator in fostering family ties and experiencing well-being. In Chinese culture, food is strongly associated with prosperity, happiness and good luck, and CNY is no exception to this rule.
Symbolism is one of the most important features that are associated with CNY goodies. Most of the traditional sweetmeats symbolize particular intentions and dreams for the coming year. Below are some of the most popular CNY goodies, along with the significance behind them:
- Nian Gao – This is a steamed sticky cake made from rice flour which in essence symbolizes height, progress, success and prosperity for the consequent year. The higher the cake, the he believes in improved and advancement.
- Fa Gao – With its high position, fluffy characteristic these cake represent high achievement and success. This cakes are really lucky, the Chinese word for “cake” is “Gao” and this word has same sound with “high” in English.
- Fried Tofu – This dish is actually quite simple: tofu that is coated in batter and deep fried to symbolize prosperity and good fortune. It is thrown up by the family because it ascending to a higher level of prosperity and wealth.
- Eight Treasures Rice Dumplings: This steamed dumpling includes eight different stuffings which are selected with reference to the eight trigrams in Chinese wu xing wei theory. This dish symbolizes health, luck, and prosperity as this is typically served during marriage ceremonies and new year celebrations.
- Jai – This is prepared from glutinous rice, red beans and peanuts and this represents togetherness of the family and prosperity. The different colours in the preparation of the ingredients signifies happiness and togethemess.
- Pomelo Fruit – The fruit form, especially the round one, mainly points to wholeness, completion and prosperous coming. That it has many seeds is its strength and constancy and symbolises plenty and fertility.
- Tang Yuan – Tang Yuan is round, glutinous rice balls that signify reunion and family gathering. The sweetness in the middle refers to the sweetnes of the love from a family.
- Glutinous Rice Cakes – Reunion and happiness The bright color of these cakes means joy and more than, thus people present these cakes for reunion.
- Roasted Whole Duck – That is because the Cantonese term for duck, Kau, means highly profitable, or better still, good luck. Hence, this dish symbolizes gains and prosperity in terms of finance.
- Long noodles – These are noodles that are expected to be long in order to depict the message of long life.
- Aqua – Rice Pig – Rich, consisting of many kinds of food ingredients, and means rich food. Its name derives from the fact that people said that the taste of this amazing bread was so delicious that the legendary Buddha leaped the wall to have its share.
- Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaves – The coated lotus leaf being an allegory of fortune.
Now that we’ve explored some of the most popular CNY goodies and their symbolism, let’s discuss how to choose the perfect treats for your celebration:
- Family – When choosing your CNY edibles, try to choose what your family is most comfortable with and likes. Do your family have a favorite food or a favorite kind of sweet? It’s important that you incorporate it into your menu.
- Sequence – Attempt to serve different things, including meat, green vegetables, and dessert. This is balance or harmony as expected in the one that is coming next year.
- Taste and Quality- The various types of goodies that you want to buy should be fresh and of high quality. It does so not only to the satisfaction of the guests but also to the essence of the entire menu.
- Authenticity – make an effort to select genuine recipe or dish from the part of the world where your family originally comes from. This personalizes the Holiday and guarantees that you are celebrating the correct cultural customs.
- Color – We also earlier noted that many of the CNY goodies are colored using meanings symbolic of Chinese New Year. It is recommended to add variety of such colors as we know they are symbols of happiness, money etc.
Therefore, selection of proper CNY goodies is one of the crucial steps in regard with this much-valued festive event. Selecting the dishes with the symbolic meanings, proportionally arranging the dishes, and using the quality products in the dishes, one can make the family and friends’ celebration memorable and meaningful. Thus, during this CNY, ensure that you prepare a wide range of sweet treats that would not only make our tummies roll but also help shower blessings of prosperity towards the lives of our beloved family members and friends. Happy Chinese New Year!