Because this kind of dumplings cooked in a pot will float and sink, it was originally called "floating Zi Yuan", and later it was renamed Yuanxiao in some areas. Most southern families are used to getting together to eat the traditional customs of jiaozi on the morning of the Spring Festival.
At present, some places also have the habit of eating glutinous rice balls on New Year's Day, but besides glutinous rice balls, there are many other traditional foods on New Year's Day, among which jiaozi and rice cakes are the most classic representatives. Jiaozi was transformed from wonton. Every New Year, northerners eat jiaozi. However, the custom of eating jiaozi on New Year's Day prevailed in the north of Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The rice cake is also called sticky cake, which means high every year. Rice cakes have a long history, but eating rice cakes on New Year's Day prevailed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially in the south. Mainly in Suzhou, Jiading and other places in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.