Lucky foods to eat on the Lunar New Year
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For Lunar New Year, many people in Asia and around the world are eating foods that look like money, sound like good fortune and represent wholeness.
Why it matters: "The Chinese believe that you have to have a really positive attitude going into the new year," says Grace Young, a cookbook author, culinary historian and activist who works to preserve America's Chinatowns.
- "That's why you're eating these symbolic foods, to bring good fortune and good luck to your family," she tells Axios.
Between the lines: Some words for traditional Lunar New Year's foods are Cantonese homonyms for good things.
- Shrimp dishes are eaten because shrimp in Cantonese sounds like "ha," "so it means that joy and laughter will come into your life," Young says.
- Sweet and sour pork is served because "sour" in Cantonese sounds like the word for grandchild, which "means your family is growing," Young says. Plus, pork signifies bounty.
Whole fish is a holiday mainstay, for a few reasons.
- The Cantonese words for fish and abundance sound alike. Also fish typically swim in pairs (which could symbolize marital bliss).
- It's important that the fish is whole "because it symbolizes a proper beginning and end of the year," Young says.
The Cantonese words for tangerine and luck sound similar, so oranges are popular on the holiday.
- Plus, they're round (representing the wholeness of life), almost red (red is lucky) and can have fresh green leaves (which represent new growth).
Other classic dishes for the new year look like coins or bills.
- See: dumplings, spring rolls and clams (which also "portend a new beginning when they open up," Young says).
Yes, but: You won't see anyone eating tofu.
- Tofu in Cantonese sounds like the word meaning "bitterness."
- Also skip the haircuts at the start of the new year because you don't want to cut away good fortune, Young says.
Zoom out: This is the Year of the Snake, which is itself symbolic.
- The same way that a snake sheds its skin, people can shake off the last year and prepare for a new beginning.
Go deeper: Why lunisolar calendars guide cultures
