The meaning of each dish of the New Year's Eve dinner:

1. Dumplings: attracting wealth

Meaning: In Chinese folk custom, people stay up late and eat "dumplings" on New Year's Eve "It is the highlight of a feast that cannot be replaced by any delicacies from the mountains and seas. "Dumplings" are also known as "Jiaozi" or "Jiaoer", which means the alternation of old and new. It also adheres to the will of God. It is a must-eat delicacy for a feast. Eating dumplings means "Gengsui Jiaozi", "zi" means "Zi Shi", and "Jiao" is a homophone to "dumplings", which means "happy reunion" and "good luck". In addition, because dumplings resemble ingots in shape, eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year also carries the auspicious meaning of "bringing in wealth and treasure".

2. Fish: There will be plenty every year

Meaning: Because in Chinese tradition, there is a saying that there will be plenty (fish) every year, so fish is a must-have dish for New Year’s Eve dinner. Carp is eaten on New Year's Eve. Carp is a homophonic word for "li". Eating carp during the New Year will bring good luck. Eat crucian carp on New Year's Eve. Crucian carp is a homophonic sounding word for "auspicious". Eating carp and crucian carp together during the New Year means good luck. Silver carp is eaten on New Year's Eve, and silver carp is a homophonic word for "lian". During the New Year, silver carp is eaten every year in succession.

3. Chicken: Have a plan

On New Year’s Eve, a sumptuous reunion dinner will inevitably include chicken. When eating New Year's Eve dinner on New Year's Eve, in many places the first dish to eat is chicken, because it means good luck. New Year dishes must include a chicken on the dining table, because "eating a chicken starts one's life".

4. Wontons: Stocking up on food

Eating wontons during the New Year symbolizes the beginning of the new year. It is said that Pangu created the world and made "the light and clear air that floats up is the sky, and the heavy and turbid air that condenses down is the earth." This ended the state of chaos and created the four directions of the universe. Furthermore, "wonton" and "hundun" are homophonic, which means having a full store of food.

5. Long noodles: longevity for a hundred years

Also called longevity noodles, eat it in the New Year to wish you a hundred years of life. All pasta in ancient times was called cakes, so soup noodles were also called soup cakes at first. The first noodles were not rolled or pressed, but the mixed noodles were torn into pieces by hand and mixed with those eaten in the north. The methods of "crow head" and "monkey ear" are similar. After the Tang Dynasty, chopping boards began to be used to roll noodles, and gradually there were long noodles, short noodles, dry noodles, plain noodles, meat noodles, and dried noodles.