13 May 2008
Get ready for that time again; the Lunar New Year. Although it’s celebrated by several nations, in Australia it’s the Chinese that have the biggest shindig for their biggest festival of the year.
Even if the year is already a couple of days old, the party keeps going. Below is the inside running on what happens not just this year, but every year.
A lot of comparisons can be made with the western tradition of Christmas, including the way we all buy presents, have our own traditions and our own special meals, although the Chinese boast a scary beast rather than a fat man in Coca-cola colours to go with it.
In China, the giving and receiving of mandarins and mixed nuts is thought to bring good luck for the coming year. Dishes tend to be fried rather than steamed or boiled. As with any large festival in the Central Kingdom, this one necessitates the killing of a pig.
The A-Z
A is for abundance. New Year banquets generally comprise eight or nine courses. Eight sounds like the word for prosperity and nine for long lasting, so there’s not just a lot of food, but also a fair amount of sybmolism. Roast pig signifies purification and peace, oysters and lettuce represent good fortune and prosperity. Shark fin or bird’s nest may be served (sadly) simply because they are esteemed and expensive. Ingredients are as luxurious as the host can provide and dishes are chosen for their similarity in some way to the fundamentals of the festival; the classic tenets of longevity, prosperity and wisdom. Banquets are usually held every night for at least a week, and two if possible, though these days they’re very similar to banquets that are held at any time of year.
B is for Buddha’s Delight, a vegetarian dish made at New Year. Because it is considered a bit of poor form to spill blood on New Year’s Day, some Chinese offer vegetarian dishes. Buddha’s Delight is a mix of over ten vegetables, such as gingko nuts, bamboo, lotus root, snow peas, lily buds, bean curd and water chestnuts in a soy-based sauce.
C is for conpoy, dried scallops, and sounds similar to another term kung hei. Fat choi, or hairy fungus, sounds like fatt choy. The Chinese, particularly the Cantonese - who make up the majority of immigrants to Australia - love to serve dishes with words that sound like they’re other words. Hairy fungus and dried scallops together sound like the traditional Cantonese New Year greeting Kung Hei Fatt Choy (meaning Happy New Year, but perhaps more literally, Congratulations, Prosperity). Because both Cantonese and Mandarin are tonal there are ample opportunities to use homonyms.
D is for dim sim, which aren’t Chinese. But our very own dim sim is a strange love child of the classic dim sum, those wonderful dumplings served at yum cha (see Y). Meaning “to touch the heart” each hand-crafted morsel is designed to be achingly beautiful, each one touching your soul.
E is for every dog’s birthday. The second day of the New Year is considered every dog’s birthday, so be kind to dogs on this day (and it’s a good idea not to eat one). In fact, the first 10 days of a new year all have dedications; the first is the day of the chicken; the second of dogs; the third pigs; the fourth ducks; the fifth cows; the sixth horses; the seventh humanity; the eighth rice; the ninth fruit and vegetables; the tenth barley and millet. In honour of the birth of humanity, long noodles are eaten to ensure a long life.
F is for fried rice. I’ve travelled through China and not eaten steamed rice for three weeks. Rice is considered poor man’s food, and is usually served at the end of a meal, if at all. To eat rice at a banquet is a sign that there wasn’t enough food. Fried rice, on the other hand, particularly Yangzhou fried rice named after the town that perfected the dish, is considered high brow enough for celebrations.
G is for Guo Nian. Nian is a big scary beast that looks like a cross between a lion and a bull and lives deep under the earth. Guo Nian means to “survive” the Nian (nian now meaning “year”). In winter Nian roams the land, eating and scaring the peasants, but he’s a bit of a girl’s blouse and afraid of three things – the colour red, loud noises, and fire. At New Year, the classical time to ward off Nian, Chinese villagers used to paint their doors red, light fires and make loud noises by banging sticks together. Some burnt bamboo because it makes a loud cracking sound as it burns, and eventually they discovered fireworks. See also L.
H is for hong bao. Hong bao/lysee (red envelopes containing money) are given to single people for luck, their outsides often boasting gilt designs of longevity, prosperity and thanks. At lion dances the envelopes are fed into the mouth of the lion at the end of the dance. At Chinese restaurants diners place a lysee in the middle of the table, perhaps in a glass, under the teapot, or otherwise difficult to retrieve. Lion dancers show their agility by raising the head over the table and retrieving the hong bao without (hopefully) upsetting the crockery.
I is for inconsistencies. Yep, it’s one HUGE nation, and the Chinese don’t agree on much (including some regions being under the Central Government, but that’s another story). Hence traditions change from family to family, from town to town. Two major languages, 56 minority groups and 31 regions make for one hell of a mixing pot, so every rule and custom has its exception.
I is also for insistence, something you’ll need to make sure you get what the Chinese are eating. Don’t take “you no like” for an answer. Even if you don’t like it, trying unfamiliar food is part of the thrill of travelling in your own city.
J is for jiu, alcohol (see W), something that gets drunk a lot during the festival. J is also for jiaozi, the fabulous, ingot-shaped, northern Chinese dumplings. Meaning “sleep together and have many sons” and taking their name from the first Chinese form of paper money, they’re appropriate to wish success for the New Year (if having money and kids can be considered success, and it does). Zi sounds like the word for children. In some places one dumpling is embedded with a coin, another with a date. The female who gets the date will have a child that year, and the person who gets the coin will be blessed with good luck in the financial world. Jiaozi also means midnight, so they’re appropriate food for New Year’s eve.
K is for kung hei fatt choi. That “Gung Ho, Fat Boy” the Cantonese seem to be calling to you is actually a New Year greeting rather than some derogatory term. (Try Gongxi Facai in Mandarin, or Guo Nian).
L is for lion. Lion dances are thought to banish the monster Nian, and remain important throughout much of the country. The traditional greeting of Guo Nian in much of China means “survive the Nian” as well as “observe (celebrate) the year”, nian translating as “year”.
M is for moon. Chinese New Year is actually more correctly called the Lunar New Year, as the Chinese (like many countries in the region) traditionally work on a lunar calendar rather than our solar calendar. Lunar calendars mean that the date of their New Year alters compared too ours as it always occurs on a New Moon. It typically occurs between 21st January and 21st February.
N is for noises. Loud noises. Fireworks. Banging of drums and cymbals. It’s to scare off the Nian (See G). With much of China banning fireworks, some people buy recordings of firecracker noises or just burst balloons.
O is the shape of the season. Anything round, including scallops and clams, represents coins or ingots (and therefore wealth) and is highly favoured. In parts of the south they serve round rice cakes, the shape symbolising the unity of the family. Poultry and fish should be served with their heads and tails or feet still on, showing a true beginning and end.
P is for prosperity salad. In some Sydney homes and restaurants they’ve adopted the prosperity salad, which was invented in Singapore. It’s made from finely shredded vegetables and fish. Like a Christmas pudding, everybody should help toss the salad; the higher the toss, the greater the prosperity. Sometimes this dish, called yusheng, is also tossed on the seventh day of the new year.
Q is for Qingdao, the current geographical name for Tsingtao, one of the great beers of China and the one usually available at Chinese restaurants in Australia. Named after an impressive seaside city on the coast of Shandong, it’s China’s most famous beer (Qingdao was once a German concession), so probably the best alcohol to drink with Chinese food.
R is for red. Red is a symbol of good fortune or good luck, so you’ll find it everywhere.
S is for Spring Festival. While we call it Chinese New Year, it’s actually more commonly known as Spring Festival in China; the first day of the New Year is the first official day of spring.
T is for two weeks of New Year. Sure you’ve missed the start, but no self respecting Chinese would stop partying before at least a week is out. On New Year’s Eve offerings are made to family ancestors and gods and there’s a feast where everyone stays awake. On New Year’s Day you pay respect to elders, set off fireworks, burn incense, worship deities and call on friends and relatives. Hong bao are given out (see H) to those not present the night before. On days 2-4, married women visit their parents’ homes, astrologers predict fortunes. By the fifth day of the New Year, many people stay home as it’s believed bad luck to visit relatives or friends. Instead the day is spent at home to honour the god of wealth, Po Woo. On the seventh day, the Birthday of Humanity, farmers show off their produce, and many people make a special drink using seven different vegetables.
If Spring Festival isn’t enough, then the 15th day of the New Year is the start of the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Jie) to celebrate the first full moon. Apart from many lanterns and folk dances in Chinese villages, there are tang yuanxiao, dumplings made of sweet sticky rice flour filled with black sesame and rolled into balls. The shape represents completeness.
U is for unwashed hair. Many people believe that washing hair on New Year’s day may wash out good luck, and crying today will mean you’ll cry all year. Houses are kept clean, but the dust is scraped into a corner rather than out the door and the broom is put away so bad spirits can’t sweep out the good luck. Houses are often left with windows and doors open to allow good luck in. Throughout Spring Festival everybody continues to sweep houses to send off poverty (as well as being mindful of fussy visitors).
V is for vegetarianism. Following an ancient Buddhist belief, most people do not eat meat, or at least they won’t kill on New Year’s Day (many, however, find a bit of pork or chicken killed the day before to be a worthy banquet item). See also B.
W is for Wu Liang Ye, a famous Sichuanese firewater made from distilled grain that can be used to celebrate any auspicious occasion. The most famous and overrated distilled drink is Moutai. To be honest, I prefer a beer (see Q) or a sauvignon blanc.
X is for another New Year greeting, Xinnian Kuaile.
Y is for yu, fish, which should be served at every great banquet. But as yu sounds like the word meaning “wish” as well as the word “abundance”, fish simply must be served at Spring Festival. (Fish also symbolise fertility because of their number of eggs). There is only one day some Cantonese don’t usually serve fish, and that’s New Year’s Day itself, when killing an animal for food is traditionally considered a bit crass. This however, is a dying tradition (excuse the pun).
Y is also for yum cha, one of the most celebratory meals of this celebratory time. Good luck trying to get in to this dumpling extravaganza.
Z is for Zhao Shen, the Kitchen God. On the 23rd day of the previous year many households offer a sacrifice to their Kitchen God. This god is sent from heaven to look over families and make a report on what they’ve done for the past year – knowing the good boys and girls from the bad. The sacrifice to the Kitchen God is usually a sticky rice or lotus seed sweet. The purpose is twofold; to sweeten their relationship with the Kitchen God and to stick his mouth together so he can’t tell anyone about all the questionable deeds he’s witnessed.
A few Chinese New Year dates:
Rat 子 Zi February 7, 2008
Ox 丑 Chou January 26, 2009
Tiger 寅 Yin February 14, 2010
Rabbit 卯 Mou February 3, 2011
Dragon 辰 Chen January 23, 2012
Snake 巳 Si February 10, 2013
Horse 午 Wu January 31, 2014
Goat 未 Wei February 19, 2015
Monkey 申 Shen February 8, 2016
Rooster 酉 You January 28, 2017
Dog 戌 Xu February 16, 2018
Boar/Pig 亥 Hai February 5, 2019