Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year is also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival 春节. This is because the New Year celebration centres on removing the bad and the old and welcoming the good and the new.
The Chinese New Year celebration lasts 15 days and usually occurs between January 21st and February 20th each year.
These days consist of traditional meals, parades, Lion and Dragon dances, stories, incense, candles, music, decoration, visiting temples, family gatherings, and connecting with ancestors. It's also an opportunity to hope for a good harvest and welcome the Gods of Wealth (财神).
As the new year approaches, houses are being cleaned and purified. They’re decorated with red lanterns, banners/couplets, and flowers.
Everyone bathes and cleanses to wash away bad luck and wears new clothes for the festive period.
The new year is also an important family occasion. It's expected that the family all come together for Chinese New Year, even if this means travelling back home if you live or work away. This is called Chun Yun (春运), which translates to 'Moving in the Spring'.
Older and senior family members give the younger ones good luck pocket money, known as Ya Sui Qian (压岁钱), contained in a red envelope (Hong Bao 红包).
Firecrackers welcome in the new year at midnight on New Year's Eve!
As you can see, many meaningful and important traditions are associated with Chinese New Year, which may result in a busy time for those celebrating.
If you’re participating in the Chinese New Year, this guide will help you enjoy the festivities as a family while being mindful of your Second Nature goals.
Food to celebrate
Shou Sui (守岁)
On New Year's Eve, people traditionally light candles, known as Shou Sui, to drive away all evil.
There are various activities for Shou Sui, such as eating food, having tea and Nian Gao (年糕), which is Chinese New Year Cake, Tang-Yuan (汤圆), a traditional celebration dessert, snacks, and playing mahjong, chess, or card games.
These activities are usually centred around the kitchen or stove, so food is at the heart of these celebrations.
Taking part in the traditional games for Shou Sui can help you keep up with extra snacking and sugar intake. Alternatively, try to share Nian Gao and Tang-Yuan with other friends and family to manage your portion size.
Nian Ye Fan (年夜饭)
Sitting around a big table for a New Year's Eve dinner is customary, known as Nian Ye Fan. This is an important family meal.
Some traditional foods in Nian Ye Fan include:
Jiaozi (饺子): dumplings. Fill these with plenty of meat, seafood, and vegetables, and limit dipping sauces, which can be high in sugar
You might also like to try steaming or baking the dumplings instead of frying them
Some traditionally fill these with dates, peanuts, and chestnuts, which can be a tasty option, though try to keep your portion of dates small or swap this for another fresh fruit option, which would be lower in sugar, such as a mandarin orange.
Most families would have a fish dish to represent "Plenty" (余) and "Niannian Youyu" (年年有余), which means wealth for the year. Fish is an excellent source of protein.
- Try opting for an oily fish source, such as salmon, mackerel, or trout, to add omega-3 fatty acids to your meal for overall health and fullness
Fortunately, vegetables are a big part of Chinese New Year! Vegetables (菜) in Cantonese sounds like Wealth (财), so consuming plenty of vegetables symbolises new money for the coming year.
- Enjoy a variety of colours with your vegetable intake to ensure a range of vitamins and minerals in your diet
- Fill at least ½ of your plate with vegetables to keep your fibre topped up, and you will feel full and satisfied
- Some opt for vegetarian-only meals on the first day of the New Year, and you can find our guide to vegetarian eating here
Those from the Beijing region and some other Northern parts of China also eat Laba Congee (腊八粥). This dish is cooked with rice, beans, peanuts, dried fruit, lotus seeds, nuts, and sugar to represent the year's harvest.
Portion your carbohydrates of beans and rice, aiming for ¼ of your plate
Perhaps opt for fresh fruit alongside this dish instead of dried fruit with a higher sugar content
Additionally, omitting sugar from this meal can help manage glucose levels during this celebration
Most people from the South eat Nian Gao, a cake steamed with sticky rice and cane sugar
It’s considered good luck to eat Nian Gao during this time, so enjoy it mindfully and work on pairing it with another healthy habit, such as a glass of water or some extra steps, to bring some balance to your overall day.
Tang Yuan is a cake made from rice flour. The filling is often made of bean or nut powder with sugar, cooked and eaten with soup
- Again, try to be mindful of if and how much you want to enjoy this sweet food, finding an overall balance with other healthy foods and actions over the celebration.
Fortune cookies are typically made from flour, vanilla, sesame seeds, and sugar
Try experimenting with a biscuit recipe that is lower in sugar, such as the Second Nature Anzac cookies, or try concealing the fortune paper in another gift, such as a vase, gift bag, or plant!
After New Year's Eve dinner, families join around the stove to eat sunflower seeds, watch TV, and talk together
Consider doing an active family activity around this time, such as a family dance, walk, or sporting game!
During this festive period, you may want to plan and prepare meals as much as possible with meal planning and batch cooking.
This helps ease the stress around this busy celebration and saves money to honour the meaning behind the Chinese New Year. Our guide for eating on a budget could help here.
Remember to enjoy this special occasion with your family by finding balance and moderation across the 15-day celebration.
Your health coach is on hand to help you with all of the above and find innovative ways to celebrate Chinese New Year more healthily.
We also have the Second Nature Chinese balanced plate to help you navigate your meals during this time.
Written by Simi Ryatt