Essential foods for Chinese New Year's Eve

The first day of the first lunar month is Spring Festival, the beginning of a new year for China. Spring Festival is China's biggest extravaganza and a day for family reunion. Being around family members at the turn of the year is a vital ritual for the Chinese people.

農曆正月初一是春節，中國新年的開始。春節是中國最大的盛會，也是家人團聚的日子。對中國人來說，在年關與家人團聚是一項重要的儀式。

The Spring Festival celebration is a continuous process, starting from the 23rd or 24th of the 12th lunar month. People often worship the kitchen god, clean their houses, do their shopping and put up Spring Festival couplets (blessing words posted on door frames) until New Year's Eve on the lunar calendar.

春節慶祝活動是一個連續的過程，從臘月二十三或二十四開始。人們通常崇拜灶神，打掃房屋，購物，貼春聯（貼在門框上的祝福語），直到農曆除夕。

In addition to staying up late on New Year's Eve, having an elaborate dinner is also key to the Spring Festival celebration. The New Year's Eve dinner has been manifested in different ways around China.

除夕夜除了熬夜，吃頓豐盛的晚餐也是春節慶祝的關鍵。年夜飯在中國各地有不同的表現形式。

Those in South China must have a dish of fish, because "fish" in Chinese sounds similar to the character for "prosperity", symbolizing an abundant and comfortable life. Those in North China often eat dumplings, which symbolize "reunion" and "fortune".

中國南方的人一定要吃一盤魚，因為「魚」在漢語中的發音類似於「餘」這個字，象徵著豐富而舒適的生活。北方人經常吃餃子，餃子象徵著團圓和好運。

Spring Festival is just around the corner. Let's take a look at some essential dishes on the New Year's Eve dinner table!

春節就要到了。讓我們來看看年夜飯桌上的一些必備菜吧！

Dumplings are a very common dish for northern China, symbolizing reunion and fortune. Dumplings' shape resembles gold ingots from ancient China. For Chinese people, eating some dumplings means bringing more treasure and wealth in the coming New Year.

餃子是中國北方很常見的一道菜，象徵團圓和好運。餃子的形狀像中國古代的金錠。對中國人來說，吃餃子意味著在新的一年裡帶來更多的財富和財富。

Sweet dumplings are made from glutinous rice flour. The fillings can vary from region to region. The round shape of the sweet dumplings symbolizes "reunion".

甜餃子是用糯米粉做的。餡料可能因地區而異。團圓的形狀象徵著團圓。

"Fish" in Chinese sounds similar to the character for "prosperity", symbolizing an abundant and comfortable life. Most families will have fish for their New Year's Eve dinner.

「魚」在漢語中的發音與「餘」相似，象徵著豐富而舒適的生活。大多數家庭在除夕晚餐都會吃魚。

Lion-head meatballs（獅子頭肉丸）

One of the representative dishes of Huaiyang cuisine, it has a lucky connotation from its name.

淮揚菜的代表菜之一，從名字上就有吉祥的內涵。

A regular dish in southern China, the magnificent and auspicious poon choi contains up to 20 luxury ingredients served in a big wooden or clay-pot bowl.

作為中國南方的一道普通菜，華麗吉祥的盆菜包含多達20種豪華食材，盛在一個大木盆或泥盆裡。

Eight treasure rice cake（八寶年糕）

The eight treasure rice cake is a quintessential Chinese New Year dessert. Many families across the nation choose to finish their meal with this dessert.

八寶年糕是典型的中國新年甜點。全國許多家庭都選擇用這種甜點來結束他們的晚餐。

Those in Southwest China's Sichuan province may choose to have a meal of hot pot for their New Year Eve's dinner. As everyone eats from the same pot, it is also a symbol of reunion.

在中國西南的四川省，人們可以選擇吃一頓火鍋作為他們的年夜飯。因為每個人吃的都是同一個鍋，所以這也是團圓的象徵。

During less economically developed times, people often had to wait a full year to enjoy a meat dish. Braised pork, or hongshaorou in Chinese, is part of a mouthwatering memory of New Year's Eve dinner for many Chinese of the older generation.

在經濟不太發達的時候，人們常常要等一整年才能享用一道葷菜。紅燒肉是許多老一輩中國人對年夜飯令人垂涎欲滴的記憶的一部分。

Buddha jumping over the wall（佛跳牆）

This is a soup that is popular in South China. It uses luxury ingredients, such as sea cucumber, abalone, shark fin, dried scallops, ham and more. Its name comes from the tantalizing scent of the soup, enough to lure a Buddha, who is vegetarian, to want to jump over the wall and drink it.

這是一種在中國南方很流行的湯。它使用奢侈的原料，如海參、鮑魚、魚翅、乾貝、火腿等等。它的名字來源於湯的誘人香味，足以引誘一個素食的佛陀跳牆而飲。

Most people in South China will have rice cakes for Spring Festival due to its auspicious meaning: Wishing to be elevated (in whatever area one desires) in the New Year.

中國南方的大多數人都會在春節吃年糕，因為年糕的吉祥含義是：希望在新的一年裡得到提升（你期盼的任何方面）。

Lettuce, or shengcai in Chinese, sounds similar to the Chinese phrase "gaining fortune". It is not hard to see why people across the nation would opt for this vegetable dish.

萵苣，或中文叫生菜，聽起來類似於中國習語「發財」。不難理解為什麼全國人民都會選擇這道菜。

The Chinese pronunciation for tofu sounds similar to "luck for all" – "Tofu, Tofu, mouthful of 'Fu' (happiness)". Tofu is also winning over people's hearts and stomachs for its health benefits.

豆腐的中文發音類似於「人人都有好運」——「豆腐，豆腐，滿口福」。豆腐也因其有益健康而贏得了人們的心和胃。

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