One thing I have learned over the years is pick the right person for the job, utilize all of the resources available to you. With this week’s blog theme being Chinese New Year, I went to the Managing Director of the Compliments Culinary Centre, Winnie Chiu, for some assistance. Winnie was born in and grew up in Hong Kong and therefore was much more knowledgeable on the subject then I. Below is some information on some of the customs and rituals involved in the Chinese New Year.
• Like all new years from different cultures, Chinese New Year celebration always starts New Year’s Eve. That is the second most important day of the year when the entire family gets together for an elaborate meal. (The most important day of the year, incidentally is the Winter Solstice.) The meal will always consist of a whole chicken..... Yes with the head still attached and a whole fish.......also with the head, vegetables, a nice soup, pork, and beef and of course rice.
• I always remember waking up Chinese New Year morning as a child, to find 2 tangerines tied with a red ribbon by my pillow. It was placed there by my Mom to bring good luck for the New Year. Tangerine, when translated into Chinese sounds like "gum" and is pronounced the same way as "gold" in Cantonese.
• It is auspicious to have everything in a pair, which means you will never be alone and will find the love of your life. Together with the pair of tangerines, I would find 2 red envelopes with lucky money. Again, this is a symbol to bring prosperity for the coming year.
• The children will usually get up very early to wish their parents and any other elderly a very healthy & happy new year and will receive more red envelopes, also known as "lai-see". The red envelopes are decorated with exquisite designs & symbols in gold that are ancient expressions of long life, gratitude, peace & blessings. Lai see is only given by the seniors or married couples to the younger generation. So traditionally, a married couple will give their adult single siblings lucky money too, this will embarrass the younger brother or sister to make them find a spouse soon.
• In Cantonese, we will say "Kung Hei Fat Choy" in Mandarin "Gong Xi Fa Cai", directly translated as "Wishing you be prosperous!"
• Red is a colour of luck and happiness. One would never use white for this occasion because the colour is only used during a funeral.
• The house is usually decorated with spring flowers such as narcissus, peach blossom, small tangerine bushes and other spring flowers - symbolizing a fresh beginning & life.
• A character called the "Choy Sun" is commonly seen on posters around town. He is the "God of Money".
• Firecrackers will be lit all over villages & towns. Legend has it that thousands of years ago, a beast would go around villages scaring the children, so people lit firecrackers to scare off the beast. Overall, the noise of the firecracker is used to get rid of the bad things and welcome a new beginning.
• Chinese New Year is always celebrated with lots of food, but it is always important to have a few vegetarian dishes in the first few days, so some animals are spared from being slaughtered. One very popular vegetarian dish is called Buddha's Delight. It is a braised dish with the following ingredients: napa cabbage, dried oysters, lily buds, black seamoss, black fungus, dry bean curd, vermicelli noodles, gingko nuts, ginger and oyster sauce. Some of the ingredients might sound unappetizing but once braised together, it makes a delicious dish. As well, let's not forget the lucky names of certain ingredients. dried oysters - "Ho See" meaning good things and black moss - "Fat Choy" meaning prosperity.
• Chinese New Year breakfast will consist of specific foods that not only taste good, but have special lucky meaning. Some examples are: turnip cake "Law Bak Go", taro root cake "Wu Tao Go" . The word "Go" sounds the same as height or elevation symbolizing success in school & at work.
• The first 2 days of the new year, people will go visit the senior members of the family to pay respect and wish them good health & happiness. The children are usually the happiest because they will get lots of lucky money, lots of candies and delicious snacks. Some traditional Chinese New Year snacks include candied lotus seeds, candied winter melon strips, candied lotus roots.
• In some villages, people do not visit others on the 3rd day of the New Year, because they believe that day will cause arguments amongst friends & family. House visits resumes on the 4th day.
Best regards,
Winnie Chiu
Managing Director, Compliments Culinary Centre
Thank you Winnie for giving us the inside scoop on some of the traditions and customs related to the Chinese New Year "Kung Hei Fat Choy" in 2009 the year of the OX.
Regards,
Chef Ian