There is a tradition of eating dumplings for New Year’s Eve dinner in the north, but the custom of eating dumplings varies from place to place. In some places, dumplings are eaten on New Year’s Eve, in some places on the first day of the new year, and in some mountainous areas in the north, dumplings are eaten on the first day of the new year. It is the custom to eat dumplings every morning on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Eating dumplings is a unique way to express people's wishes for blessings and good luck when bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. According to ancient Chinese timekeeping, 11 pm to 1 am the next day is Zi hour.

"Jiaozi" is the moment when the new year and the old year intersect. Dumplings represent the beginning of the new year, and eating dumplings during the Spring Festival is considered good luck. In addition, dumplings are shaped like ingots. Making dumplings means wrapping up good luck, and eating dumplings symbolizes a wealthy life. Unlike the north, New Year’s Eve dinner in the south usually includes hot pot and fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, symbolizing "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and also a happy life, "abundance every year". There are also some places in the south that pay attention to eating rice cakes during the Spring Festival. The rice cakes are eaten every year, which symbolizes that the harvest is getting higher and higher year by year.