NEW YORK (RNN) - New Year's resolutions are still fresh on your minds, but another new year is already on its way. For those of you who have already fallen off the wagon, here's your chance at another try.
Chinese New Year is Jan. 23 and brings with it hope for happiness and good fortune in the year of the dragon.
The celebration of Chinese New Year started well before the third century B.C. Anthony DeBlasi, associate professor of Chinese studies at the University of Albany, said the cause of the holiday probably originated from the changing of the seasons, which is closely linked to agriculture.
"In modern Chinese, New Year is also referred to as the ‘Spring Festival,'" DeBlasi said.
Just like in traditional American New Years, there's a big feast on New Year's Eve. The first day of the year can be loud and joyful and often features the famous dragon dances and fireworks.
"Both the raucous dances and the fireworks were believed to scare away evil spirits," DeBlasi said. "The main traditions - besides family visits and feasting - include visiting temples, giving children small red envelopes with money, hanging auspicious sayings around the home to bring good luck for the coming year."
The festival ends on the first full moon of the year.
Puns are large elements of the Chinese New Year because of the many homophones present in the language. For example, there's a Chinese tradition of hanging the character for "good fortune" upside down on a door.
"That is because the word in Chinese for ‘upside down' and that for ‘arrive' sound the same, so ‘good fortune upside down' sounds like ‘good fortune arrives,'" DeBlasi said.
The Year of the Dragon
Monday marks the start of the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac. There are 12 animals cycled that correspond to a person's birth year. As with the Western zodiac, your animal was said to tell a lot about your personality and could help you determine who you are compatible with in relationships.
Ching Yeh Chen, the president and part owner of New York's Pearl River Mart, said the store sells a lot of dragon paraphernalia around Chinese New Year.
"The dragon is something totally imagined. It's totally different," Chen said. "You see hundreds of versions of different dragons: sitting dragon, playing with fireball, flying, under the sea."
The Year of the Dragon is important because the dragon is the only creature in the Chinese zodiac that is imaginary. Chen said in many ancient cultures there were dragons, including those in Egypt, Babylonia and Greece. But in China, the dragon is especially important.
In Chinese culture, the dragon represents power and courage.
"All the emperors in ancient China wore a dragon coat, always in yellow," Chen said. "The yellow dragon symbolizes the highest authority in old Chinese society."
The dragon also embodies balance - yin and yang. If there was a drought, people would pray for rain.
"The rain comes, and they say the dragon is acting in the sky and granted you the rain you needed," Chen said. "But on the other hand, the dragon can be bad and give you a flood and be angry. It's interesting; it's always good and bad."
Chinese New Year in America
Larger cities in America, including New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston, have notable celebrations for the Chinese New Year because of their large Chinese communities. DeBlasi recommends looking into your city's community to see if there are any performances or festivities.
A lot of Chinese Americans tune into a large performance that occurs on New Year's Eve in China via satellite TV.
"It usually airs from 7 p.m. to midnight (ET) and includes performances of various sorts and includes many of China's most popular performers," DeBlasi said.
He does warn though that the broadcast is heavy on Chinese national propaganda and that it's all in Chinese. Without knowing the language, a lot of the comedy and puns are lost on non-Chinese speakers.
Pearl River, Chen's store, sees an increase in sales around the Chinese New Year. It's not only people that want to buy decorations.
"There's a big department store that came in to buy a 60 foot dragon for their window," Chen said.
Delicious dishes
Dumplings, noodles, fish, sticky rice cakes and Tangyuan are all common New Year's foods. How each is made often depends on what area of China you are in. The significance of the dishes is more related to, again, puns and symbolism, DeBlasi said.
Noodles are long and symbolize longevity. They are commonly eaten on the second day of the year.
The word for fish sounds like the word for abundance in Chinese. DeBlasi explained, "A traditional greeting is ‘May every year have abundance,' which easily transforms into, ‘Let every year have fish.'"
Sticky rice cakes also include a pun.
"The word for that kind of cake (New Year rice cake) sounds like (prosperous year)," DeBlasi said.
Tangyuan are sticky rice balls that can have sweet or savory fillings and are served in boiling water on the last day of the festivities, called the Lantern Festival.
If you'd like to try a recipe yourself, the dumplings are your best bet. Here's a recipe courtesy of epicurious.com:
Jiaozi Dumplings
- 2 1/2 cups minced napa cabbage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 11 ounces ground pork
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry Sherry
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup minced green onions, green and white parts
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- About 60 round dumpling wrappers (purchased pre-made, or see sub-recipe)
- Chinese black rice vinegar, for dipping
To make the filling, toss the cabbage and salt together in a large bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes. Drain the cabbage in a colander over a sink and use your hands to squeeze out excess moisture.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, pork, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, green onions and pepper. Stir in one direction with a chopstick until just mixed.
To form the dumplings, rest a wrapper in the palm of your hand and place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Dip your finger in a bowl of water, and run it around the edge to help make a good seal. Lightly fold the wrapper over on itself, but don't touch the edges together.
Starting at one end, use your fingers to make a small pleat on the side of the wrapper closer to you, then press the pleat into the other side and pinch together firmly. Keep making pleats down the dumpling opening in this way until completely sealed. Repeat this process with the remaining filling and wrappers.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop half of the dumplings into the water and stir once, so they don't stick together. When the water boils again, add 1 cup of cold water to the pot. Then when it boils again, add 3 cups of cold water.
The third time the water boils, the dumplings are cooked. Remove them with a slotted spoon and repeat with the remaining dumplings. Serve immediately with small bowls of Chinese black rice vinegar for dipping.
(Source: epicurious)
Copyright 2012 Raycom News Network. All rights reserved. Recipe courtesy Epicurious.com.
The dragon dance is performed on the first day of the year, and fireworks are set off to scare away evil spirits. (Source: Ryskiphotos/flickr)
Dumplings are a traditional dish served on New Year's Day and usually have a pork filling. (Source: Sheilaz413/flickr)
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