On January 26th, 2009, Chinese all over the world will be ushering in the year of the Ox. Traditionally the celebration spans over 15 days. In the celebration of the Chinese new year, food plays a very important role, they have a symbolic significance. Such food are also known as "auspicious" food. Shown here are few of the many auspicious food.
Togetherness Tray - Guests to Chinese households are offered treats from this tray which has 8 compartments, eight being the lucky number of the Chinese. Each treat in this tray has its own symbolic significance, it provides a sweet beginning to the new year.
The word fish sounds like "abundance" in Chinese, therefore a whole fish signifies abundance year round.
Dumplings or Jiaozi - Because their shape looks like ancient Chinese currency they're associated with wealth
Shrimps - The word shrimp sounds like laughter, hence eating shrimps will bring lots of laughter year round.
Noodles - The long strands of noodles mean longevity.
Sesame ball - Made with glutinous rice and filled with sweet bean pastes then rolled in sesame seeds. These are deep fried and expands during frying. Some believe this represents "expansion" of luck. Also because it is round and rolls around, roll rhymes with house (in chinese) therefore translating into a house full of silver and gold.
These and other "auspicious" food are now featured in Chinese supermarkets and restaurants. Click on the link to see some of the CNY food. They are on sale for a limited time only.
http://www.tnt-supermarket.com/en/index.php
Last but not least, Gung Hei Fat Choy (cantonese) or Gong Xi Fa Chai (mandarin) to everyone!
4 comments:
For a novice blogger, this blogspot isn't as easy to work with or it's just me. I had problem editing spaces between paragraphs as well as placing images in the order I want them. Perhaps some savvy bloggers can shed some light on simple ways to do the above tasks.
I think it would be easy to edit these using html codes...
the food looks so yummy...
Hi Lei,
So I've been told to use html codes. One would think there would be a much simpler way to do this sort of editing.
By the way, did you take a look at the CNY food featured at my favorite supermarket? You must be familiar with that place, I could spend hours there just looking at everything.
Another way to do is, insert these pictures in between your text, that'll do. Yes, I am familiar with the place, they really set the bar high~~
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