The Festivals and Foods of China
Spring Festival
Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival, has more than 4,000 years of history. It is the most important festival for Chinese people and as such the most grand. The 2015 Spring Festival (Lunar Chinese New Year) falls on Feb. 19 and the holiday starts from Feb. 18 to Feb. 25, 2015. In preparation for Chinese New Year, every family does a thorough house cleaning and purchases enough food, including fish, meat, roasted nuts and seeds, all kinds of candies and fruits, etc, for the festival period. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children. Traditional foods include jiaozi or dumplings. Cold and hot dishes are all served. Fish is always an important dish which expresses people’s hope of having a wealthy year. Here are some popular Chinese New Year sayings that goes with the food:- 我要吃饺子,招财进宝 (zhāo cái jìn bǎo, bringing in wealth and treasure)
- 我要吃鱼,年年有余 (nián nián yǒu yú, always have more than you need)
- 我要吃年糕,年年高升 (nián nián gāo shēng, getting higher year-after-year)
- 我要吃汤圆,团团圆圆 (tuán tuán yuán yuán, happy family reunion)
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