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Archive for the 'Chinese New Year' Category
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Chinese New Year
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009The Chinese New Year starts on January 26th this year. It’ll be the year of the Ox.
Here’s a composition by David W. Solomons that he created in honor of the holiday.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can read previous posts about the Chinese New Year.
If you’d like to find a festival near you, check out an article about some Chinese New Years Festivals around the world. If the weather permits, I’d like to bring my family to the one in Chinatown, in New York City.
Does Anyone Know the Song, “I’m a Little Chinese Doll from Across the Sea”?
Sunday, October 19th, 2008Sandy wrote looking for help with lyrics to a Chinese New Years song. Here’s what she wrote…
Looking for the entire words to an old song “I’m a Little Chinese Doll from across the sea. Where the lovely lotus blooms neath a cherry tree. Paper dragons you will meet on a Chinese New Year, Winding up and down the street on a Chinese New Year. Evil Spirits cannot stay when the dragon’s on his way. Firecrackers POP all day on a Chinese New Year…” Anyone ever heard this song and is there more of it? Please let me know, I need it for my little granddaughter to sing… She so loves it but we think there is more. Thanks for the help.
If anyone know of more lyrics to this song, or if you know anything about the origins of it, please let us know about it in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
The Custom of Eating Dumplings for the Chinese New Year
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about symbolic foods that are eaten around the world for the New Year.
There are symbolic foods that are eaten for the Chinese New Year too. This year, the Chinese New Year celebrations start on February 7th. (It will be the year of the Rat!)
Dumplings are one customary food that’s eaten for the New Year. One reason is that they resemble the old gold money used in China. Thus, dumplings symbolize the hope for prosperity in the coming year. Usually the dumplings are filled with meat.
In parts of Northern China, they even insert a coin into a couple of dumplings. It you’re lucky enough to be served one of those, it’s thought you’ll acquire even more wealth!
Lin wrote to me about the custom in Tianjin, a city that’s southeast of the capital of Beijing, China:
As the Chinese New Year is coming up, there’s something interesting to note here about New Year’s food. In Tianjin, China, people will make vegetarian dumplings, apart from the meat ones for the New Year’s Eve. They eat the vegetarian ones especially at midnight, usually with the fireworks going outside the windows. The vegetarian dumplings signify a coming year which is very clean, with no accidents, no serious affairs, etc.
“Su”, as vegetarian, implies something simple, calm.
The contrary is “Se” as in colour/lust, or “Rou” as in meat/flesh/therefore lust.Interestingly, in other parts of China this habit is not often observed. Not even in Beijing, as far as I can determine, though it’s just 120 kilometers away.
I mentioned this custom to Ray Lee, who was born in Hong Kong. Ray said:
Yeah, that’s interesting. I’ve never heard of it. But then, China is a big country with a lot of different local customs. I am sure there are a lot I haven’t heard of. I remember we would eat a certain kind of vegetable around the New Year simply because its name sounded like “getting rich”. The name of the vegetable is “Fat Choy” (it’s a long black sea moss), which as you may recall sounds just like the “fat choy” in “kung hey fat choy”!
“Kung Hey Fat Choy”, means “Congratulations and Be Prosperous”. It’s something that people say to each other in Cantonese during the Chinese New Year.
To all of you celebrating the Chinese New Year, “Kung Hey Fat Choy”!
-Lisa
Here’s a post I wrote last year about how Yuan Xiao is eaten for the Chinese New Year.
Feel free to comment below about foods you eat for the Chinese New Year!
Yuan Xiao and the Lantern Festival in China
Monday, April 16th, 2007
Yuan Xiao is a traditional food for the Lantern Festival in China. The Lantern Festival is at the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. People go outside with lanterns, watch the dragon dance, set off firecrackers, and they eat Yuan Xiao. (Yuan Xiao is also called Tang Yuan.)
There’s a sweet version and a salty one. The sweet version is made of sticky rice wrapped around black jasmine, white jasmine or peanuts with sugar. Sometimes there’s something else like fruit inside.
Recently, Hanchao, a woman from China who lives in my neighborhood, treated me to a luncheon that featured Yuan Xiao. Xuemei (also from China) was there, as was Rae from Taiwan.
Hanchao made Yuan Xiao with black sesame paste, and Xuemei made it with red beans. Both were wonderful to taste!
I mentioned how I would love to share the recipe for Yuan Xiao with my readers.
The ladies told me they don’t have cookbooks in China like we have in the West. Recipes are passed on from mother to daughter, from sister to brother and from friend to friend. They were amazed at how we have such precise measurements in our recipes and how we can duplicate the exact same recipe each time. They teach each other recipes by cooking the meal together.
Hanchao said she would try to write down her recipe for us. Here is what she sent me…
Hanchao’s Yuan Xiao Recipe
3 cups sticky rice flour
1 1/2 cups chopped black sesame seeds
1/2 cup sugarThe black sesame seeds that I bought were fresh. You can put the sesame seeds on a cookie sheet in the oven on 375 F. Stir a few times while cooking. Cook until it tastes good – about 30 minutes.
Mix chopped sesame with sugar in a blender until smooth. This is the filling. Set aside.
Put 1 – 2 cups of water into the sticky rice flour and mix to make the dough. You can use up to a total of 3 cups of water. Add the water slowly, because if you add to much, it will be too gooey – in which case you can add more flour. You want it to be smooth like pie dough or playdough.
Shape the dough of the sticky rice into half balls, put a teaspoonful of filling into the half ball. Close the half ball to form a full round ball and smooth out it by rolling it between your hands.
Put the Yuan Xiao into boiling water. Cook until all the Yuan Xiao float on the surface of the water. Cook for 30-60 minutes. Serve in the water it’s cooked in, like a soup.
Some people will serve Yuan Xiao in a sweetened broth. I asked Hanchao about this and she said she only uses water.
Yuan Xiao (Tang Yuan) are a symbol of family unity and happiness. People serve them to their family on the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration. It’s a symbol that the family will be happy and complete in the upcoming year.
Many thanks to Hanchao for sharing her recipe for Yuan Xiao with us!
Here are some links for other recipes:
Taiwanese Tang Yuan in an Egg Drop Soup
A Recipe for Pork Tong Yuen and one for Black Sesame Seed Paste Tong Yuen
Recipe for Glutinous Rice Balls with Salted Egg Yolk and Peanut Filling
The Chinese New Year – The Year of the Pig
Friday, February 16th, 2007February 18th is the first day of the Chinese New Year. This coming year will be the year of the Golden Pig. It’s considered to be a very lucky, prosperous year. The pig is considered the symbol of fertility. People born in the year of the Pig are thought to be honest, lucky and warm-hearted.
Here’s some info about writing Happy New Year, Pig and Good Luck in Chinese characters…
Happy New Year in Chinese characters is:
You pronounce it in Cantonese as Kung Hey Fat Choy, and in Mandarin as Gong xi fa cai. Both sayings mean “Congratulations and Prosperity!”
Here is the symbol for good luck:
In Mandarin it’s pronounced “fu” and in Cantonese it’s pronounced “fook”. It’s often hung on doors on a red diamond shape banner. Some people hang it upside-down. That’s because the word for upside-down in Mandarin sounds like “dao”, which also sounds like the Mandarin word for “arrive”. So it’s like saying – let good luck arrive.
The Chinese character for Pig is…
Here’s a link with an animation that shows how to write pig in Chinese
Pig is pronounced as “zhu” in both Mandarin and Cantonese – You can hear how to say pig in Cantonese!
You can find more about how to say Happy New Year in Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Korean in my post from last year.
Here you can hear the pronunciation of Happy New Year in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Many thanks to Ray Lee for help with the Chinese characters!
恭喜發財!
Why Does the Chinese New Year Move Around?
Monday, January 23rd, 2006By Raymond Lee
Every year, the Chinese New Year comes several days earlier than it did the year before. If you’re wondering why, it’s because the Chinese year is shorter than the western year. Of course, something has to be done or the Chinese New Year will just keep moving up. The Chinese calendar compensates for that by having a leap year every 12 years (I think). And during a leap year, there are actually 13 months. That’s why if you look at the movement of the Chinese New Year from year to year, you will see it come earlier and earlier, and then suddenly, boom, it gets pushed back by almost a month, and the cycle repeats.
Come Visit Mama Lisa’s Chinese New Year Page for more about the Chinese New Year.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World China Page for Kids Songs from China and
The Mama Lisa’s World Taiwan Page for more Chinese Children’s Songs
Greetings and Hand Gestures for the Chinese New Year
Sunday, January 22nd, 2006The Chinese New Year is on January 29th, 2006. It’s the Year of the Dog.
The Chinese New Year is called Sun Lean in Cantonese.
To wish each other a Happy New Year, the Chinese characters are æ?喜發財.
The New Year’s greeting in Cantonese is Kung Hey Fat Choy, which means Congratulations and Be Prosperous. When the New Year’s greeting is said, there is a specific hand gesture. Here’s a picture of the correct hand gesture made for the Chinese New Year.
You shake your hands up and down slightly while making this gesture.
My cousin James, who lives in Shanghai, China, wrote me about what’s said in Mandarin for the Chinese New Year. He said…
Xin nian kuai le means Happy New Year in Mandarin, and is normally said to a young person.
Xin = New
Nian = Year
Kuai le = HappyXin nian jian kang is normally said to an elderly person.
Jian Kang = Good Health
Xin nian hao is normally said to someone you don’t know on the street.
Hao = Good
Gong xi fa cai can also be said for the New Year.
Gong xi = Congratulations
Fa cai = ProsperityXin nian kuai le!
In Vietnam, the New Year is called Tet Nguyen Dan. The Vietnamese New Year’s greeting is Chuc Mung Nam Moi meaning, Happy New Year. (Tet refers to the first morning of the first day of the New Year).
In Korea the New Year is called Sol or Seollal. In Korean they say, Say-hay boke mahn-he pah-du-say-oh, which literally means, Please Receive Many New Year’s Blessings.
Many thanks to Ray Lee for sending me the photo of the correct hand gesture to use for the Chinese New Year, and for help with the Cantonese, and to James Yannucci for help with the Mandarin.
Happy New Year!
Lisa
Come Visit Mama Lisa’s Chinese New Year Page for more about the Chinese New Year.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World China Page for Kids Songs from China and
The Mama Lisa’s World Taiwan Page for more Chinese Children’s Songs
More Traditions of the Chinese New Year
Saturday, January 21st, 2006The Chinese New Year is also know as the Spring Festival and Lunar New Year
The Chinese New Year is usually celebrated on the 2nd new moon after the winter solstice and ends with the full moon 15 days later. This year the Chinese New Year starts on January 29. The year will be 4703.
There are many traditions associated with the Chinese New Year. Here are some of them:
In preparation for the New Year, houses are swept clean to get rid of traces of bad luck. But there is no sweeping on New Year’s Day for fear of sweeping away good luck.
No sharp objects can be used on New Year’s Day. They might cut out the good luck.
To maintain honor, all debts must be paid before the New Year begins.
Red is the color for luck and to ward off evil spirits. Red also symbolizes happiness. People will paint their doors red and decorate the house with red and gold ornaments. Gold is another important color since it symbolizes wealth.
People often wear red for the New Year. Black and white are not usually worn, since they’re considered colors of mourning. (Red is also the traditional color for brides’ gowns in China.)
Sayings of good luck are written on red scrolls or banners and used as decorations. Happiness, prosperity and longevity are primary themes.
Pictures of Door Gods are sometimes hung on the front door to keep out the evil spirits.
Flowers and fruit are symbols of the New Year. Traditional flowers for the Chinese New Year are Plum Blossoms, Narcissus, Azaleas, Peonies, and Water Lilies. Flowers symbolize good health and wealth. It’s particularly good luck if a flower opens its bloom on New Year’s Day. The most important types of fruit for the Chinese New Year are oranges and tangerines, which both symbolize happiness.
The New Year is also a celebration of ancestors – sometimes places will be laid at the table for ancestors on New Year’s Eve.
People have a special meal on New Year’s Eve and will stay up till midnight to welcome in the new year.
At Midnight people light fireworks to ward off evil spirits and welcome back the Kitchen God.
Celebrations can last for 15 days.
At the end of the New Year’s celebration, on the 15th day after the start of the new year, there is a Festival of Lanterns. There’s a parade of children carrying lanterns lit by candles inside which represent the moon.
Come Visit Mama Lisa’s Chinese New Year Page for more about the Chinese New Year.
Happy New Year!
Lisa
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World China page for Kids Songs from China and
The Mama Lisa’s World Taiwan Page for more Chinese Children’s Songs
“Sending off the Kitchen God Day” is on January 23nd
Thursday, January 19th, 2006A week before the Chinese New Year people burn the Kitchen God.
The Kitchen God is called Zao Jun. It is thought that he is sent from Heaven to watch over the family throughout the year. He is also said to have invented fire. He’s present in the kitchen in the form of a picture, or a banner with the Chinese symbol that represents him in gold.
When the Kitchen God is burned it is said that the smoke from the burning paper sends him to heaven. Once there, he reports to the Jade Emperor, who is the highest god in Taoism. He’ll report to the Jade Emperor about the moral behavior of the family, whether good or bad.
Before the family burns the image or symbol of the Kitchen God, they offer him sweets as a bribe to say nice things about them. They also smear his lips with sugar or honey to either sweeten what he says, or to make his lips stick shut so that he won’t say anything at all!
A new Kitchen God is placed in the kitchen on the first day of the New Year.
Happy Sending off the Kitchen God Day!
Lisa
The Names of Foods Eaten for the Chinese New Year
Wednesday, January 18th, 2006My entry yesterday about the Chinese New Year focused on Red Packet Money.
Today my friend Ray from Hong Kong wrote me about the foods eaten for the Chinese New Year. He wrote…
- Food for the Chinese New Year… During the New Year, there are certain food items that people eat. These food items are picked because of their names. Chinese people like things that sound nice. For example, when it comes to phone numbers, license plates, and so on, they like to see the number 8 in it, because the pronunciation of the number 8 resembles the pronunciation of the character that means “get wealthy”. So, during the New Year, people eat food items whose names sound good. For example, there is one vegetable whose name sounds like “get wealthy”. Or there’s this cake whose name sounds like “get taller”.
That’s very interesting. Thanks for writing Ray!
Lisa
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World China page for Kids Songs from China and
The Mama Lisa’s World Taiwan Page for more Chinese Children’s Songs
Looking for the Chinese Text to a Rhyme about the Chinese New Year
Tuesday, January 17th, 2006Hayley wrote me inquiring about a Chinese rhyme for the Chinese New Year which is on January 29th…
I have found the rhyme…
Chinese New Year
You’ll find whenever the New Year comes
The Kitchen God will want some plums.
The girls will want some flowers new;
The boys will want firecrackers, too.
A new cap will please papa
And a sugar cake for dear mama.I really need this in Chinese text to show a group of nursery children and wondered if you could please help?
Thank you for your time.
Hayley Dukes
If anyone knows the Chinese text for this, or if you’d like to send any other songs or rhymes for the Chinese New Year, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World China page for Kids Songs from China and
The Mama Lisa’s World Taiwan Page for more Chinese Children’s Songs
Traditions of the Chinese New Year – Visiting Relatives and Giving Red Packet Money
Tuesday, January 17th, 2006January 29th is the first day of the Chinese New Year in 2006. This year is the Year of the Dog.
My friend Ray Lee grew up in Hong Kong. I asked him how the Chinese New Year is celebrated. Here’s what he said…
- The New Year is a time for friends and relatives to go visit one another. Not that you’re not allowed to visit your friends and relatives during the year, but at the beginning of the New Year (i.e. New Year’s day and the couple of days that follow) it is especially encouraged.
- Red packet money: It’s money stuffed inside a red envelope, usually with a new-year-related drawing and/or writing in gold on the front. Parents give their kids red packet money on New Year’s day. Uncles and aunts give their nephews and nieces red packet money too.
And remember I said that people visit one another during the New Year? Well, the visitors will give each other’s kids red packet money. For example, if your family goes to visit my brother’s family, my brother and sister-in-law will give your kids red packet money. And you and your husband will give my brother’s two kids red packet money. Red packet money, however, is not limited to kids.
In general, as long as you’re not married and relatively young (maybe up to 30, but don’t quote me on that), you get red packet money. There has been a lot of debate between me and my co-worker Kate about whether or not someone who is divorced is eligible for red packet money. I think as long as you’re single, you’re good. When you get divorced you regain your eligibility. She, on the other hand, insists that once you get married, no matter what happens, you give up your red packet money eligibility for good. I don’t know who is right. Unfortunately, there is no “International Red Packet Money Council” to set the rules.
- While we are still on the topic of red packet money … How much money should you give? Well, it depends on whom you’re giving to. It’s common practice to walk around with several red packets in your pocket, some carrying less money, some carrying more. Then, when you run into someone and have to give their kids red packet money, you make a quick assessment of how close these people are to you, and you decide how much, i.e. which red packets from your pocket, to give them.
I will write more as I think of more Chinese New Year related traditions.
Thanks Ray and have a Happy New Year!
Lisa
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World China page for Kids Songs from China and
The Mama Lisa’s World Taiwan Page for more Chinese Children’s Songs
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