The Meaning of The Title Contains a Special Meal at Each Point in The New Year Tradition Chinese

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival is celebrated every January, usually towards the end of the month or sometimes in the middle of the western world's calendar.

As with all Chinese celebrations, the Chinese New Year revolves around food - the preparation and eating of food. It is customary as soon as a guest enters a Chinese person's home, to ask them if they are hungry or if they have eaten. The Chinese New Year meal is extremely elaborate.

Beginning on New Year's Eve, families gather for a reunion feast that generally includes nian gao a rice pudding cake-like creation that is somewhat sticky and is said to help people move ahead to a higher arrangement and wealth, step by step.

Northern China gave the New Year's Eve celebration the dumplings or Jiao Zi which look like the golden coins yuan bao for money during the Ming Dynasty and to pronounce the word correctly, it sounds like the name for the earliest paper money used. So people believe serving them at New Year's Eve will bring everyone prosperity and wealth.

In order to claim they have money at the changing of the New Year, people will eat their 'money food' at midnight. In addition, several cooks will hide a clean coin in one of the dumplings for a lucky person to find. In addition, to insure they will have good fortune in the upcoming New Year and to avoid misfortunes, most of the dishes are prepared with whole foods; nothing is cut upon with a knife, using anything like a knife or cleaver during the holiday is considered unlucky.

Long noodles are used at the table in order to guarantee each person at the New Year's table will have a long, healthy life. Happiness, longevity and prosperity all seem to show up in the names of the dishes served at the Chinese New Year meal. Hoe see fat choy is hair seaweed with dried oysters and sounds like good business and wealth. When visiting a family, couple or individual on the Chinese New Year, it is customary to bring a gift such as oranges or tangerines because their Chinese names sound like wealth or gold.

Fish is another staple of the Chinese New Year's meal, although it is never fully eaten to insure that the family has a year of good fortune and the fish is always carp because it symbolizes a profitable year ahead.
There is always a platter of either five meats or five vegetables which is symbolic of the five blessings of the New Year - riches, longevity, virtue, wisdom and peace.

During the week long celebration, each family keeps their dinning table filled with sweets and savory specialties to offer quests as they stop by. Another tray is filled with delicious treats such as sweetened lotus roots which symbolize abundance, sweetened lotus seeds which symbolize fertility and dried melon fruit which is a symbol for profuse earnings in addition to various sweet treats, candies which are a sign of long-term sweetness.

In the new year there is now a regular on the popular modern society do traditionally red packets are also handed out to younger generation by their parents, grand parents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends during Imlek. Nowadays giving red packets as a bonus at the year-end by employers becomes popular and Imlek parcel is also a tradition of giving to business associates or relatives.

Giving Imlek parcel to employees prior to the New Year is also a good idea. This can be either a gift or a bonus. If it is as a gift, the money should be just right for a gift. If as a bonus, you may enclose a check in the parcel gift and hand it out in an office.

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The Reason to do Valentine's Day

The Origins of Valentine's Day

There are many different theories as to the exact origins of Valentines Day. Ancient Rome is said to have celebrated February 14th to honour Juno, the Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses. Other theorists point to the numerous Catholic martyrs, Valentine of Terni and Valentine of Rome. The Middle Ages saw the holiday gain traction around the English-speaking world, with the sending of handwritten notes and letters of love quickly gaining popularity.

The 19th century was a definite turning point for the holiday, leading to a turn towards the posting of pre-made greeting cards. This transformation has perhaps been the most influential in shaping the holiday's current incarnation, with most people the world over now recognising the holiday as a 'Hallmark Holiday', i.e. a holiday that serves commercial, rather than genuinely sentimental purposes. Whether this is fact or just cynicism, Valentine's Day undoubtedly takes its place within the firmament of the world's most important and most widely celebrated holidays. Valentine's Day, regardless of its origins, is a golden opportunity to express love and affection. After all, who doesn't enjoy anonymous greeting cards, romantic candle-lit dinners and mountains of red roses, valentine chocolate and champagne?

Valentine's Day around the world

The holiday is widely celebrated across the world, although traditions and conventions differ from country to country. In the English speaking world, typical Valentines Day gifts include greeting cards, chocolates and sweets, flowers and lingerie.

In other parts of Europe such as in many countries in Scandinavia, Valentine's Day celebrations are rather more understated, with a romantic dinner and a single red rose being common currency. In Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan, Valentine's Day takes its place among other romantic holidays, such as White Day, Rose Day and Kiss Day. Valentine's Day in these countries marks an occasion whereupon women present men with valentine chocolate, whilst White Day marks the occasion for men to respond to women with the giving of sweets.

Not altogether keen on Valentine's Day?

It doesn't matter whether you're from either camp those who value the holiday and those who don't. The chances are, there is someone in your life that waits impatiently for you to recognise that Valentine's Day is important to them, even if only in secret.

It could be your wife or husband; girlfriend or boyfriend; a co-worker you've long fancied; an attractive neighbour; or even someone that you've admired from afar. Every year on the 14th of February, you're granted an automatic pass to make your romantic move. And let that opportunity pass you by at your own peril a forgotten or neglected Valentine's Day can result in an instant black mark against your credibility as a lover or love interest.

What to do for Valentines Day

Valentines Day produces as many cynics as it does doughy-eyed lovers. Perhaps the reason why there's much cynicism about Valentine's Day is that the holiday has somewhat lost its lustre because it's dominated by generic gifts and cards that are devoid of imagination. After all, it's pretty contradictory to be telling a lover or love interest that you love them, but with a gift that says nothing particularly personal.

When you consider the occasion in this context, it's easy to understand the 'Hallmark' stigma attached to the holiday. The U.S. Greeting Card Association names Valentine's Day as the second largest card-sending day of the year, second only to Christmas. It is estimated that Valentines inspires over one billion cards across the globe and it's a safe bet that the vast majority of these gifts and cards are mass manufactured and fairly unremarkable.

Getting more out of your Valentines Day

Personalising a gift can make all the difference. It can mean the difference between a greeting card being tossed in the wastepaper basket a couple of weeks after the holiday, or a meaningful token of affection that is treasured for years to come.

There are plenty of things you can do to make sure your gift makes YOU stand out. The key is to really think about your recipient and what they would enjoy. It could be an engraved pen that inspires them to think of you.

Personalised champagne can add a unique and special touch to a romantic dinner. Wondering what to get a Valentine's Day-averse husband or boyfriend? Going beyond conventional gifts to present, for example, personalised sporting items is sure to warm the hearts of even the most cynical of sceptics.

One thing is for sure, when it comes to romantic gifts, a personalised touch is the vital separator between cheesy, token gifts to mark the holiday; and genuine expressions of love that really shout, "I love you!"

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