Hey everybody just want to make this video to wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year. A happy year of the dragon now if you don't know the Lunar New Year is a very important holiday. It is the most important holiday for Chinese people and it goes Way Beyond the dragon dances and the red envelopes although when I was a kid red envelopes, which are basically envelopes full of cash that grown-ups give to the kids, that was actually the most important part for me and of course this is a holiday that many different cultures celebrate in many different ways. But in this video I want to share with you how the Chinese celebrate this new year because there are a lot of traditions and superstitions involved and a lot of that extends to the foods that we eat and Foods we must avoid during the New Year's celebration. So even if you don't celebrate the Lunar New Year a little advice on how to potentially gain some good luck and how to potentially avoid bad luck in the year of the dragon can't hurt, right?

First thing you should know is that the Chinese New Year celebration spans 15 days and each day holds unique practices and meanings. The most important is New Year's Eve (what we call chú xī 除夕) this is when families gather together to share arguably the most important meal of the year and it concludes on the 15th day known as yuánxiāo jié (元宵节) or the Lantern Festival and that's marked by Lantern displays and eating sweet rice Mochi (what we call tang yuan 汤圆) and it's round because it symbolizes family unity and perfection.

Now let's get to the foods that we eat and the foods that we must avoid number one fish fish is the most important must have Dish during a new year meal, because fish is pronounced Yú 鱼, which also sounds like the word Yú, which means prosperity and surplus so when you are eating fish it's kind of like you're gaining prosperity and you're gaining Surplus. Here's the most important part it's essential to eat the whole fish not just a fish fillet or fish sticks cuz you want the whole Surplus not just a little part of it and when you are eating the whole fish and you finish with one side do not never flip the fish over it's a fantastic way to turn your luck upside down and pretty much just dump out all your Prosperity.
Number two dumplings (or Jiaozi) the shape of dumplings resemble ancient Chinese gold ingots, so dumplings are a must have food for inviting wealth in the new year now midnight munching is recommended for maximum wealth and wasteline and if you eat fish dumplings that's like wealth and prosperity in every single bite.
Number three sweet rice balls (tangyuan) these round balls symbolize family unity and are typically enjoyed during the Lantern Festival marking the end of Chinese New Year celebrations again they're round like a family reunion and sweet like the gossip shared at it so eating these guarantees a sticky sweet year ahead.
Number four my favorite noodles Long and this is very important uncut noodles represent a long life so it's crucial to just slurp them without breaking them to ensure a life of longevity unless you fancy A Life That's short and snappy.
Number five fruits certain fruits are particularly auspicious like oranges and tangerines which are called 柑桔 in Mandarin literally meaning golden oranges and they symbolize well gold also Pomelos they're believed to bring continuous prosperity and Status best way to remember is Vitamin C where the C stands for a cash.
Now foods to avoid during the New Year number one porridge or congee but here P stands for poor because the Chinese believe eating porridge on the morning of New Year's Day is believed to be very unlucky and will kick your new year off with a mushy start.
Number two any type of white Foods. Foods that are white in color like tofu should definitely be avoided as white symbolizes death and Misfortune in Chinese culture.
Number three any Cuts or chopped Foods so this could be a lot you ever wonder why you have bad luck sometimes maybe it's that chopped salad youa during the new year I mean you never know during the Chinese New Year celebration. Whole Foods not the supermarket whole entire foods are preferred as cut Foods including vegetables are thought to represent cut or severed fortunes.
Now outside of foods there's some other things to be aware of the Chinese believe that sweeping and nowadays probably vacuuming or taking out the trash can sweep or suck away Good Fortune not saying dust is Good Fortune but you know what I mean. So clean before the new year or you might sweep Fortune out with the dust bunnies. Next breaking things during the new year is considered a bad Omen so if something does break make sure you say Sui Sui Ping An where Sui which means broken pieces and Ping An means peace so it's kind of like you're saying the broken pieces will bring me peace it also means peace year after year.
Next negative words talking about death or ghosts or any misfortunes in the past year where using any negative words is strongly avoided so keep it cheerful where you might accidentally download a Year's worth of Misfortune also crying children It is believed that children crying can bring bad luck to the family so parents it's time to negotiate ice cream for Smiles it's a small price to pay for a year of Good Fortune .
Oh and make sure you're wearing red because the Nian monster the scary monster that comes out only during the new year they're scared of the color red .
Finally if you are giving out gifts make sure to avoid scissors and clocks now if you are the type of person that gives out clocks or scissors as presents I'm glad you're not my friends but scissors goes with a whole cutting the fortune thing and clocks are a taboo gift as they symbolize time running out and also because the Chinese word for clock is Zhōng which sounds exactly the same as the word for the End , so there you go that's a little bit about the new year that hopefully you found interesting and potentially helpful.
Even if you don't celebrate the Chinese New Year not doing any cleaning or housework for a day to avoid bad luck I think that's a pretty good excuse to take a day off. So whether you are a believer in these superstitions or just in it for the food (mochi balls are excelent by the way) these gastronomic traditions and Customs will for sure add some flavor to your new year and as always thank you all so much for watching (Xīnnián kuàilè 新年快乐 Gōngxǐ fācái 恭喜发财 ) which is Happy New Year and wishing you great fortune in Mandarin Happy year of the dragon everybody.