Happy Lunar New Year: How the Lunar New Year is celebrated and what you can cook

We celebrate the lunar new year, one of the most delicious festivals of all, because food plays a very special role here. Together with Bamboo Garden, we go on a journey and discover the most diverse traditions. Find out what exactly the Lunar New Year is, where it is celebrated and what customs are associated with it. Our colleagues also share their favorite Lunar New Year memories and traditions.

What is Lunar New Year?

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, marks the beginning of the new year in the traditional Chinese calendar. It falls on the first day of the first lunar month and can fall between January 21 and February 20, depending on the phases of the moon. The festival extends over a period of 15 days, culminating on New Year's Day itself. During this time, supermarkets advertise special ingredients and offers, the streets are decorated with festive signs and banners and are full of food vendors (and the plates are full of food). The celebrations are steeped in traditions and customs that express the wish for prosperity, happiness and harmony in the coming year: there are parades, fireworks and lots of food, which is traditionally eaten together.

Where is the Lunar New Year celebrated?

The Lunar New Year is not only celebrated in China, as many people mistakenly believe. Millions of people around the world welcome the Lunar New Year and celebrate it in a colorful and lavish way. The celebrations are mainly held in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea, but also extend to other countries, where the cultural diaspora has settled, welcoming anyone who wishes to participate. And they all have their own traditions.

The significance of food

There are many different customs for the Lunar New Year, but one thing stands out: food always plays a central role!

The choice of certain dishes is often characterized by symbolic meanings that represent prosperity, happiness and health. In China, eating dumplings and moon cakes is a tradition alongside family gatherings and setting off fireworks. Dumplings are not only delicious dumplings, but also symbols of prosperity, while moon cakes - with their various fillings - are seen as lucky charms that are often exchanged between friends and family.
In Korea, "Tteokguk" - a soup with long, uncut rice cakes - is prepared to symbolize longevity. Incidentally, noodles are often eaten for the Lunar New Year because of this symbolism. And in Taiwan, sweet glutinous rice balls (tangyuan) are eaten to symbolize (family) cohesion.

Preparing and eating festive dishes together is also often part of the tradition, as it strengthens family ties. In many places, it is part of the tradition to sit down together as a family at the New Year's table to share the food and exchange good wishes. Eating during the Lunar New Year is therefore not just an act of nourishment, but also an expression of the hope for a happy and fulfilling new year.

And that also applies to us at Kitchen Stories

Growing up in Korea, my family celebrated 설날 (Seollal) every year, but I know that there are many other ways to welcome the New Year in different cultures and even households. That's why I asked our Kitchen Stories team to share their stories about this celebration: How they celebrate the start of the new year, and most importantly, what they eat. As with most holidays, the Lunar New Year wouldn't be complete without all the delicious food. The answers were so delicious, varied and full of tasty recipes and memories that we had to share them with you.

Dasom (Food Editor): 떡국 (Ddeokguk)

Growing up in Korea, 설날 (Seollal) was one of the two biggest holidays of the year where all of my extended family gathered at my grandma's place for a few days to cook and let in the new year. The highlight of our festivities was the first meal we had on the day: 떡국 (ddeokguk or tteokguk), an intense white broth soup with thinly sliced, oblong-shaped rice cake. Often dressed up with eggs and/or beef strips, the hearty broth warms you up for the cold, often snowy first day of the lunar year, while the rice cake shaped like coins symbolizes fortune. Eating ddeokguk also means you get a year older – so get slurping at your own risk!

Kitchen Stories recipe I recommend trying for Lunar New Year:

2 h

2.7k

Galbi-Jjim (Korean braised short ribs)

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Xueci (Food Editor): 腊肉 (la rou) and 香肠 (xiang chang)

In Sichuan where I grew up, the most important meal to celebrate Spring Festival is in fact New Year’s eve lunch. The absolute stars on the festive table are an abundance of smoked meat (腊肉, la rou) and sausages (香肠, xiang chang), prepared a month ahead and steamed on the day, accompanied by dishes like cold salads, crispy fried pork belly, and steamed sticky rice. The celebration lasts days until the lantern festival – the 15th of January on the lunar calendar when we eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls with sesame filling (汤圆, tang yuan), symbolizing togetherness with beloved ones. I didn’t have the luxury to smoke or access those sausages after moving to Germany, so I picked up a new tradition from the northern Chinese diasporas: making dumplings together, a skill I started to slowly master after deep diving in this topic last year.

Kitchen Stories recipe I recommend trying for Lunar New Year:

1 h

3.8k

Chinese jiaozi (Pork and cabbage dumplings)

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Jing (Food Editor): whole chicken and steamed fish

Growing up as a Cantonese-German, Lunar New Year is one of my personal favorite holidays. Last year I had the opportunity to celebrate in Hong Kong and although Covid restrictions limited the festivities, the spirits were still high and the New Year markets were full. Although the celebrations are not as big here in Berlin as in Asia, my family would still try to incorporate as many traditions as possible—and a big dinner on New Year’s Eve is no exception. My mom would cook up a feast consisting of at least a whole chicken and steamed fish representing wishes for abundance and luck in the new year. On the first day of the new year, we always eat vegetarian because it cleanses the body so you can start the year fresh and healthy. I also sometimes invite my (non-Asian) friends to do Chinese hotpot (火鍋, huo guo) at home, because it’s a fun way to celebrate together and keep ourselves warm!

Kitchen Stories recipe I recommend trying for Lunar New Year:

30 min

7.9k

Steamed red gilthead

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Jennifer (Project Manager): miến gà, xôi gấc, and trái cây

Lunar New Year or "tết" in the evening at around 6 pm by cooking, lighting incense sticks, praying, and finally, eating together. On the table, we always have:
- miến gà: glass noodle soup with chicken which has to be on the menu because you have to include something with broth
- xôi gấc: red sticky rice symbolizing fortune
- bánh chưng: a beautiful rice cake wrapped in banana leaves symbolizing either earth/soil through its square shape or the sky through its circular shape
- trái cây: fruits to complete the feast
Traditionally, you wear an áo dài, a beautiful garment that translates to a long shirt (not a dress). Since we're normally only 4 people at home, I only wear it the next day when we go to the temple. All the choices are made very consciously on this day, and this resonates with me so much: it is a reminder for me to reflect on myself and choose my paths in the new year as mindfully as possible.

Xue-Ying (Product Manager): 年糕 (nian gao)

Growing up in a family of restaurant owners, it was always hard to choose what to eat on Chinese New Year's Eve. Some years we ate steamed fish with scallions and vinegar, the other years just hot pot. But my favorite memory of the holiday is when I celebrated it in Wenzhou at my Grandma's place in 2018. Right before the “Golden Week” (a 7-day public holiday in China) started, all the streets were full of stands selling nian gao 年糕, a round sweet rice cake handmade with dates and walnuts, which symbolizes growth and progress. Dozens of vendors hammered rice cake dough in their huge mortar on the streets. I will never forget that steamy, sweet smell in the air. To this day, my mom still sends me nian gao by mail every year.

Kitchen Stories recipe I recommend trying for Lunar New Year:

20 min

1.6k

Crispy skirt potstickers

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Drooling yet?

I hope the stories of our celebration have inspired you to join this delightful occasion for warmth, togetherness, and of course, delicious food. If you're looking for more easy recipes to try for the Lunar New Year and get creative with your menu, have a look below for some suggestions. And share with us in the comments what your celebration looks like!

- Easy Japchae (Korean glass noodles with stir-fried vegetables)
- Chinese steamed eggplants
- Vietnamese noodle soup with chicken
- Braised beef noodle soup
- Colorful chiffonade salad
- Chinese mooncakes
- Braised pork belly
- Schuizu fish