Chinese New Year Food To Eat For Wealth and Prosperity

CHINESE TRADITIONS

Chinese New Year Lucky Food To Eat For Wealth and Prosperity

Chinese New Year is a festival of celebration and catching up with our loved ones and relatives. Feasting is inevitable during this festive occasion. In Chinese traditions, there are some Chinese New Year food that you must eat because of the deep and auspicious meanings behind them.

If you’re wondering what these Chinese New Year food customs are, just read on and keep this list as an useful reference.

Glutinous Rice Cake, “Nian Gao” (年糕) symbolize new heights and being prosperous in business for the upcoming new year.

List of Chinese New Year Food To Eat For Wealth and Prosperity

Food	Meaning and Significance
Fish	In Chinese, "fish" (鱼) sounds like 'surplus' and the Chinese always like to have a surplus at the end of the year, so it is often also used as an auspicious greeting, "年年有余" , having a year of abundance.
Pineapple tarts	These yummy Pineapple tarts are being called “Ong Lai” in Hokkien that means "prosperity rolling in"
Sweet Rice Cake Known as Nian Gao	Nian Gao is commonly seen in all household during Chinese New Year. The Chinese love it because of the word “Gao” that means high, so it is naturally link to growth, progress and advancement.
Yusheng / Lo Hei	Prosperity toss, also know as Yu Sheng is a MUST HAVE item which is usually eaten during Chinese New Year in Singapore and Malaysia. "Yu" symbolizes abundance and "Sheng" represent rise and increase, thus Yu Sheng means an increase in abundance.
Mandarin Oranges	They are believed to bring wealth and prosperity due to its Cantonese pronunciation that sounds similar to "gold". The Chinese character for orange is (橙), that has the similar pronunciation as the word 'success' (成).
Spring Rolls (春卷)	Fried spring rolls look like gold bars that imply wishing for wealth & prosperity.
Longevity Long Noodles	Eating longevity noodles is believed to represent symbolise long life, good health and happiness.
Prosperity Cakes (Fa Gao / Huat Gao)	These steamed cupcakes, produced from rice flour is called fa gao that literally means “prosperity cake,” so it’s no surprise these sweet treats are popular on Chinese New Year.
Tang Yuan (Sweet Rice Ball)	The pronunciation and round shape of tangyuan are closely linked with reunion and being together, therefore it is very common for people to eat them in this period, especially during the Lantern Festival (元宵节) that falls on the 15th day after Chinese New Year (lunar calendar).
Chinese Dumplings	Dumplings aka Jiao Zi are well invited in this festive season as their shape look like gold ingots, so it become a symbol of wealth and prosperity.