Seven dishes are the traditional folk custom of Han nationality in Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province. In Chaoshan Plain, the custom of eating seven dishes on the seventh day of the first month has a long history. On the seventh day of the first lunar month, people cook seven kinds of vegetables together and get a good start, which means they can improve their eyesight and prosperity.

This custom can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty. Dong Xun, the minister of Jin Yilang, wrote in Courtesy Questions and Answers: "The first day of the first month is a chicken, the second day is a dog, the third day is a pig, the fourth day is a sheep, the fifth day is a cow, the sixth day is a horse, and the seventh day is a man", also known as "man wins the festival".

Chaoshan custom, on the seventh day of the first month, people must eat a cake made of seven kinds of vegetables. With the passage of time, Chaoshan people no longer make cakes, but directly cook seven kinds of vegetables in the pot and eat them at noon. This is the so-called "seven kinds of soup". These seven dishes are generally radish, thick cabbage, onion, garlic, leek, celery and spring vegetables.

Five of the seven dishes are usually fixed, namely celery, garlic, onion, coriander (coriander) and leek. The homonym of celery is "diligence"; Garlic homophonic "calculation"; Onion homophonic "Cong"; Coriander's "coriander" is the homonym of "edge"; The homonym of leek is "Jiujiu". These five dishes are harmonious and auspicious, mainly for the auspicious New Year.

The other two are flexibly matched according to local customs and tastes. In some places, fish and meat are used instead. Fish means "more than a year", eating meat means a rich life, and even fruit can replace it. It is said that if you eat "seven dishes", you can find gold and silver hair and make a fortune that year, which is a must-eat food for every household in Chaoshan on the seventh day of the first month.