Celebrate the Chinese New Year
By Ho Yiling

As a young girl, I relished the aromas that wafted from the batches of black seaweed soaking in my grandmother's kitchen. It was not really a fantastic smell (depending on the broth and other ingredients!) but it meant that the New Year was coming. Growing up in multi-cultural Singapore and having grandparents who came from mainland China, Chinese New Year was deemed to be the most important and auspicious affair of the year, thus all customs were strictly adhered to.

The seaweed symbolizes luck and was one of the many dishes my family made to welcome in Chinese New Year. Relatives and friends would always spend a lot of time on the preparations. One can view it as the Chinese version of Christmas. The whole family gets together and everyone is excited and busy and happy.

On Feb. 1, the Year of the Black Sheep began-the 4701st year in the Chinese lunar calendar and a year which is said to be more peaceful than 2002 since any unfinished business by the keen "Horse" will be taken over by the calm "Sheep."

The holiday ushers in a 15-day period when families and friends exchange token gifts, give children red packets with "pocket money" and family members often take turns hosting the yearly Reunion Dinner (Tuan Yuan Fan), where relatives from all over reunite over extravagant feasts.

Tradition dictates that an even number of courses-often eight, 10 or 12-be served at the meal, because multiples of two represent double happiness and fortune. Nearly every dish on the table, and nearly every ingredient in each dish, is loaded with meaning and, of course, flavor!

While each family and each dialect group has its own food traditions for the New Year, most feasts include a whole fish. This is because the sound yu, or fish, is represented by the written character meaning "more than enough." The fish symbolizes togetherness and abundance. The fish is never fully eaten, signifying that the family will always have more than enough. To guarantee continuous good fortune, "you don't want to break the fish" during or after cooking, said Tang Hua, a Tulsa county librarian from China, "otherwise it is considered bad luck."

Many dishes for the New Year include whole or unbroken ingredients. Main chicken courses are served with their head, feet and more often than not, their rear-end as well. Believe it or not, chicken backside, or "Parson's nose" as some call it, is highly popular with the older Chinese generations. Why the elderly love it so much still remains quite the mystery to the younger generation like me. Leafy greens, noodles and other ingredients are not chopped. In fact, using knives, cleavers or any sharp object during the holiday season is considered unlucky. "You don't want to cut off or divide your good luck," explained Jane Zhao-Graber, who grew up in China and is the owner of a traditional acupuncture practice in Tulsa.

On New Year's Eve (Jan. 31st), many families serve Fire Pot (Huo Guo), a fondue-style meal where participants dip assorted meats, seafood, mushrooms and noodles in a rich broth bubbling in a large pot on the table. Each simmering ingredient carries a special meaning. Long noodles represent longevity. Hao, or oysters, sounds like the word for "an auspicious occasion or event" and symbolize receptivity to good fortune. Lettuce, or Sang Choi, symbolizes prosperity because its name sounds like the word meaning "to bring about wealth and riches."

Dumplings (Jiao Zi), known to many Americans by their Japanese name, Gyozas, represent wealth, and these are always a treat. People often get together before the New Year to prepare dumplings-a gathering that become a party in itself-so no one has to work over the holidays. "Everyone works their head off all year long," laughed Clara Xing Min Hui, my god-aunt, a Chinese TV news reporter in Manhattan, "and once a year, they take some time off just to enjoy and get together."

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