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Do you consciousness that palpable buzz successful the aerial arsenic Chinese New Year approaches? I get particularly excited astir each the delicious nutrient I’m astir to dive successful and aquatics through. (Picture maine arsenic Scrooge McDuck, wading done my oversea of golden coins. Except… it’s piles of outpouring rolls and Osmanthus Jelly). Many of these foods mostly symbolize bully luck and prosperity. But wait! Before you leap close into the Lunar New Year celebration, you’ll should beryllium alert of what’s *off* the menu. Yes, Chinese superstitions pass of definite foods that are VERY taboo for the holiday.
“But it’s conscionable food,” you’re thinking. Not successful Chinese culture. Your culinary choices during this clip tin power your luck for the full year, and you’ll privation to debar definite meals that mightiness bring astir atrocious luck oregon scare disconnected each the bully things you’ve been hoping for this year.
So, today, we’re exploring 12 foods connected the Chinese New Year’s Do-Not-Eat list to marque definite you support your blessed caller twelvemonth happy. But first… let’s wide up immoderate communal Chinese New Year misconceptions.
Common Myths and Misconceptions About Chinese New Year
❌All Chinese People Celebrate the Same Way: You’ve seen 1 Chinese New Year celebration, you’ve seen them all, right? Wrong. From Beijing to Singapore, each spot has its ain rotation connected the festival. Dumplings up north, saccharine atom balls down south, dragon dances here, lanterns there. The holiday’s diverseness is arsenic immense arsenic the state itself.
❌The Date of Chinese New Year is Fixed: New Year’s connected January 1st, right? Not truthful fast. Chinese New Year is really benignant of a moving target, acknowledgment to the lunar calendar. It tin autumn anyplace betwixt precocious January and precocious February.
❌Chinese New Year is Only Celebrated successful China: Sure, it’s large successful China, but the enactment doesn’t halt astatine the border. This festival has gone global, and is celebrated wherever you find larger Chinese communities. Heck, it’s adjacent been embraced by different Asian cultures. It genuinely is simply a worldwide phenomenon.
❌Gifting Red Envelopes is Only About Money: Gifting a reddish envelope mightiness look similar a straightforward currency transaction, but there’s much to it. Red envelopes with currency wrong are carriers of bully wishes and blessings. The contented is much astir the transportation betwixt giver and receiver than the magnitude inside.
Now, without further ado, let’s get into the
Chinese New Year Do-Not-Eat List
Porridge
We each cognize porridge—yup, similar congee—is lukewarm and comforting and conscionable astir the cleanable nutrient for wintertime mornings. But successful Chinese culture, starting your time with porridge during the Spring Festival is simply a HUGE no-no. It’s believed that porridge symbolizes poorness oregon a mediocre lifestyle. And let’s beryllium honest, cipher wants to invitation that vibe successful for the coming year. So, let’s conscionable prevention the congee for regular days and support it disconnected the New Year menu.
White Foods
Next up are achromatic foods. Tofu, eggs, immoderate kinds of cheese, you sanction it. In galore Chinese communities, achromatic is often associated with mourning, the other of what we privation for the commencement of the a caller year. While reddish envelopes and decorations are each astir bully luck and prosperity, eating achromatic foods are seen arsenic inviting decease into the home. So marque definite to swap that artifact of tofu for thing a spot much colorful, conscionable to play it safe.
Lobster
Lobster mightiness beryllium a delicacy immoderate different clip of the year, but not during Chinese New Year. That’s due to the fact that lobsters determination backward, and successful galore Asian cultures, this tin symbolize setbacks oregon backpedaling successful life. If you privation to invitation advancement and maturation into the caller twelvemonth and support your festive play moving successful the close direction, permission these water critters for the different holidays, and opt for things that aquatics forward, similar salmon, tuna oregon immoderate different full fish.
Chicken
Chicken, a staple of galore a vacation dish. But according to Chinese New Year superstitions, chickens scratch backwards, and that’s metaphor for dwelling connected the past, oregon worse, struggling to marque ends meet. In fact, galore winged fowl are considered portion of Chinese New Year taboos, the thought being that it mightiness let your luck to alert distant from you. (Though, immoderate Chinese radical counteract this by enjoying full chicken, feet, caput and all! Superstitions alteration wildly.) You privation to strut confidently into the caller year, not scratch astir successful the ungraded for your fortune, right? If so, past fto the chickenhearted (and the turkey and possibly adjacent the duck) beryllium this 1 retired and opt for thing that symbolizes progress, similar Nian Gao.
Pears
Pears are tricky. They’re saccharine and juicy, but they besides transportation a spot of a taste taboo. In Chinese, the connection for ‘pear’ (lí) sounds a batch similar ‘leave’ oregon ‘departure.’ Handing idiosyncratic a pear during the days of the New Year is similar hinting astatine a goodbye, the incorrect benignant of vibe for bringing household members person together. So, this year, skip the pears and opt for citrus fruits instead. They’re a overmuch safer stake for harmony and togetherness.
Short oregon Broken Noodles
Next up, let’s speech noodles, but not the abbreviated oregon breached kind, which are considered a precise unlucky food. During Chinese New Year celebrations, agelong noodles symbolize a agelong life, hence the popularity of “longevity noodles” astir this clip of year. Short oregon breached noodles connote a beingness chopped abbreviated oregon interrupted fortune. So, instrumentality with the long, slurp-worthy strands if you privation to guarantee a long, steadfast beingness ahead.
Squid
The Cantonese connection for squid is “Yow Yu.” In past times, workers would person to question acold from location to work, often bringing idiosyncratic belongings rolled up successful a blanket. When idiosyncratic got fired, they’d beryllium told to “yow”, a bully mode to accidental “roll up your worldly and deed the road”. Serving squid during Chinese New Year is thought to invitation the anticipation of being fired successful the twelvemonth ahead. Instead, bask immoderate outpouring rolls, which are the “gold bars” of Chinese New Year food.
Shrimp and Other Bottom Feeders
Seafood similar shrimp, cod, scallops are each bottommost feeders that scavenge on the water floor. During the New Year’s festive occasions, eating these mostly symbolizes “living disconnected scraps”, and that’s decidedly not the vigor we privation for the caller year. So, let’s skip the shrimp cocktails and purpose for fortunate foods similar Tang Yuan oregon Hong Kong Egg Tarts.
Hollow Bread
Hollow breadstuff mightiness look harmless, but during the commencement of a caller year, those bare pockets successful the breadstuff are said to symbolize coffins. Yeah, not precisely festive. Some folks marque exceptions for circular breads, but galore opt to skip breadstuff wholly during New Year’s to debar immoderate hazard of atrocious omens. Stick to the filled buns and pastries to support the bully vibes.
Beef
Beef’s connected the unlucky foods database too, and here’s why: cows graze portion lasting still. As the content goes, if you’re munching connected beef during the Lunar New Year, you mightiness beryllium mounting yourself up for a twelvemonth of going nowhere. Stagnation? No thanks! Pork is the safer bet, arsenic it’s associated with advancement and moving forward. Plus, beans and greens cooked with pork are conscionable plain delicious.
Bananas
Bananas should beryllium fine, right? Unfortunately, no, they are not 1 of our bully luck foods. In fact, rather the opposite. Cutting them is said to bring atrocious luck, and their clump signifier resembles an upturned hand, begging. So if you’re looking to bring prosperity and self-sufficiency into your beingness this year, possibly swap them retired for immoderate mandarin oranges oregon different fortunate fruits.
An Empty Plate
Last Tip: Don’t cleanable your sheet entirely. Leaving a spot of nutrient is really a bully thing. It symbolizes that you person plentifulness to spare and that the coming twelvemonth volition beryllium conscionable arsenic abundant. So, defy the impulse to polish disconnected each past bite, and your aboriginal aforesaid mightiness convey you.
General Things To Avoid During Chinese New Year
While we’re connected the taxable of Lunar New Year dos and don’ts, let’s not hide immoderate of the much wide taboos. Here are a fewer much things to debar to guarantee your full twelvemonth goes disconnected without a hitch:
- Hair Washing and Haircuts: Hold disconnected connected washing that mane connected New Year’s Day. In Mandarin, “hair” (发) sounds similar “wealth”, truthful washing your hairsbreadth is similar washing distant your fortune. And haircuts are believed to bring atrocious luck to uncles. So overmuch so, that galore barber shops are closed for a full month!
- Wearing Black oregon White: These colors are usually reserved for funerals oregon mourning. Rockin’ them during New Year festivities is inviting misfortune oregon mourning into your life. Stick to brighter, happier colors.
- Sweeping and Taking Out Garbage: Sweep connected New Year’s Day, and you mightiness conscionable expanse your wealthiness retired the door. Same goes for taking retired the trash, which is akin to dumping your bully fortune. Keep the brooms and bins astatine rest, astatine slightest for the day.
- Crying Children: The outcry of a kid is believed to bring atrocious luck to the family. So, parents, let’s support the kiddos blessed and tear-free. No scolding oregon punishment. Only bully vibes each around.
- Passing Knives astatine the Dinner Table: Want to support your relationships intact? Don’t walk a weapon oregon acquisition one. It’s seen arsenic cutting ties with that person, virtually and figuratively.
- Grocery Shopping: Make definite your fridge and pantry are well-stocked earlier New Year’s Day. Starting the twelvemonth with an bare room is seen arsenic inviting scarcity into your life.
I anticipation you enjoyed this rundown of unlucky foods and things to debar this Chinese New Year to support the atrocious luck astatine bay. Remember, portion galore of these traditions whitethorn travel from centuries of Chinese superstition, each household is antithetic and what works for them whitethorn vary. It’s each portion of the affluent tapestry of the Lunar New Year celebration.
As you stitchery astir the array with family, decked retired successful your fortunate colors (definitely not achromatic oregon white!), don’t hide to savor the moment, the company, and the feast (without the no-no foods, of course). May your twelvemonth beryllium filled with bully health, happiness, and a pantry afloat of bully fortune. Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!
Check Out More Chinese New Year Info Here:
- Chinese New Year Recipes + Superstitions
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Chinese New Year Recipes: What to devour if you privation much money!
The station 12 Unlucky Foods To Avoid This Chinese New Year appeared archetypal connected Steamy Kitchen Recipes Giveaways.
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