According to the traditional customs of Chinese folklore, the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is eaten on the night of the 30th day of the Chinese New Year's Eve. The food of the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is very particular, and the dishes on the table have some meanings, let's take stock of the meanings of the dishes that often appear on the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner:
First, dumplings represent fortune and treasure, meaning that in Chinese folklore, eating "dumplings" on Chinese New Year's Eve is an irreplaceable feast for any mountain and sea delicacies, and "dumplings" are also known as "Jiaozi" or "Jiao'er", which means the alternation of the old and the new, and also adheres to the meaning of the heavens, and is a big feast food that must be eaten. Eating dumplings takes the meaning of "more age Jiaozi", "Zi" is "Zishi", and Jiaoyu "dumplings" is homophonic, which has the meaning of "festive reunion" and "auspicious wishes". In addition, because the dumplings resemble ingots, eating dumplings during the New Year also carries the auspicious meaning of "attracting wealth and entering the treasure".
Second, the fish represents more than every year. The implication is that because there is a saying in Chinese tradition that there is more than every year, fish is a must-have dish for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. Eat carp on Chinese New Year's Eve, "carp" is homophonic with "li", and eating carp during the New Year is auspicious; Eating crucian carp on Chinese New Year's Eve, "crucian carp" is homophonic to "ji", and eating carp and crucian carp together during the New Year is auspicious; Eat silver carp on Chinese New Year's Eve, "silver carp" is homophonic with "lian", and eat silver carp for more than one year in the New Year; Eat salmon on Chinese New Year's Eve, "salmon" is homophonic with "fu", and eating salmon for the New Year is rich and auspicious.
Third, chicken represents a plan, a rich table of reunion dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve, chicken is naturally indispensable on the table, and Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve. In many places, the first dish to eat when a table is held is chicken, because it means auspiciousness. There must be a chicken on the table for New Year's dishes, because "eating chicken starts".
Fourth, wonton represents the full hoarding of grain, Chinese New Year's Eve to come to a bowl of wonton, take its beginning meaning, legend has it that the Pangu clan opened the heavens and the earth, so that the qi is clear, the clear floating is the sky, and the heavy turbidity of the air is the earth. After the end of the chaotic state, there are four directions of the universe. Then take the homonym of "chaos" and "wonton", which means that the grain is full.
Fifth, long noodles represent a long life of a hundred years, also called longevity noodles, eat it on Chinese New Year's Eve to wish a long life of a hundred years. In ancient times, all pasta dishes were called cakes, so noodle soup was also called soup cakes at first. In the beginning, the dough sheet was not rolled out into a tooth, but a pasted dough, and the slices were torn into the pot by hand. Later, there were long noodles, short noodles, dry noodles, somen noodles, meat noodles, and somen noodles.
Sixth, the Lantern Festival represents reunion. Also known as tangyuan, it is more common in the south, in fact, it is made of glutinous rice into a circle, and then put it into a pot to cook, meaning reunion, Lantern Festival is generally used as a staple food for breakfast or Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, whether it is a restaurant, hotel or home is very popular this food.
7. Rice cakes represent the rise of each year, and eating rice cakes on Chinese New Year's Eve has the auspicious meaning of "high every year", which is interpreted as the meaning of rising every year.
The above is the meaning of some of our common Chinese New Year's Eve dinners, representing the yearning of our Chinese sons and daughters for a better life, so what do everyone's Chinese New Year's Eve dinners have?