Lunar New Year

Of all the festivals, Lunar New Year is the most important. Socially, it is a time of family reunions and harmony, the burial of old feuds, and tying up of loose ends. The festival is celebrated in every home, not merely as the start of a new calendar year but as a symbol of life’s renewal: the old year disappears and everyone has a chance to start afresh. In the last month of the old lunar year, every home is alive with hectic preparations. Many auspicious foods are eaten, such as nuts, dates, melon seeds, glacé and candied fruits, sugared melon slices and other sweet confections. These are presented in an eight-sided tray called the ‘tray of togetherness’ (henian guanhe). Each food on the tray invokes good fortune, prosperity, luck and all of life’s positive elements. Peaches are a favourite at this time, as they symbolize a long life. The Chinese icons of Fu Lu Shu (prosperity, happiness and longevity) are portrayed in china or carved wooden figurines, and the ‘longevity’ figure is always holding a peach.