Have you wondered how our Chinese brethren celebrate the new year? Carmela Sioco digs deeper into the tradition of the Spring Festival: what is included in its banquet and what symbolises every dish.

There's no question that the preparations for the Chinese New Year are already underway. Chinese restaurants around town are scrounging up ideas for some New Year promos, the favourite Tikoy are making their appearances in stores while some people have begun hanging some lanterns by their windowpanes to get into the festive mood. A sense of excitement is buzzing about, most especially with Chinese families in and around the country.

Beginnings, after all, are always marked with a certain degree of romanticism --no matter where you are in the world. It's most closely associated with rebirth, or of rediscovery; it's that one day where we can all start afresh. For the Chinese, theirs is a mere few days away, this year being celebrated on January 23.

We're already aware of some of the standard customs associated with this event, given that our country is rich with Chinese culture. From wearing red-themed clothing to ward off evil spirits and bad luck, having round fruits like ponkan for good fortune, to the Ampao (red packets) giveaways that children most often look forward to, we've come to absorb some of these traditions and have welcomed these into our homes. Chinese or not, we actually partake in some of these customs. You have to wonder, though, what does the Chinese New Year mean, exactly, for those who live it, and how different is it from ours?

"The Chinese New Year is basically the new year based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar," Jon Sy, a 40-year-old Chinese businessman based in Manila, says, "For us, it means remembering our culture and history."

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements (also called "lunisolar"). Because a lunar cycle takes about 29.5 days, it adds an extra month once every few years to maintain with, or "catch up" with the solar calendar. It's the same principle as when we add an extra day to the leap year. So based on the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, but most usually in between January 21 and February 20.

Also called the Spring Festival, the celebration goes on for 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival. Some customs entail  cleaning out every nook and cranny of the house to sweep away any trace of misfortune or bad luck. Doors and windowpanes are usually given a new splash of vibrancy, coating them with red paint. These are decked out in paper cuts and couplets with designs that call on themes of happiness, longevity and health.

Every element has to be in place; from clothing to food, the most traditional Chinese have everything pinned down. In a banquet at home, dinner is usually celebrated with scrumptious seafood and dumplings as these symbolise good wishes. Prawns stand for liveliness and happiness; dried oysters are for good blessings, raw fish salad for luck and prosperity, and dumplings boiled in water are for bringing to fruition a long-lost good wish for a family. More dishes like noodles, sticky rice cakes and sweets are also staples in the feast.  Among the laid-out feast,  it's Yusheng,  or raw fish salad, that takes centre stage. Having 17 ingredients that include unbroken and uncut noodles, daikon radish, carrots, thinly-sliced raw fish, peanuts, crackers, red pickled ginger, five spice powder, pomelo and melon- each symbolises something from good luck to prosperity.  It is tossed high by each one at the dinner table while saying their wishes aloud. It is believed that the higher you toss, the more fortune you will get in the coming year. 

You'll imagine, then, what that dinner table is like for Chinese families celebrating. ASIA TATLER DINING PHILIPPINES takes a peek into what goes on in a Chinese family's home, as we ask Jon Sy how his own family celebrates it: "Different family members celebrate the Chinese New Year differently. There is no such thing as a holiday for most Chinese men so they are often at work and will only show up for dinner," he says. "The women generally prepare the dishes and decorate the dining table with red cloth and in bright colours. The children, meanwhile,  just wonder how much they will collect in their red envelopes and all the rest usually play mahjong."

The giving of these red envelopes is an ancient custom. It's also called Hong Bao, and it involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. The overriding principle behind this gift-giving is that whatever you give will come back multiplied. The amount of money in the envelopes should be an even number, as an odd number is associated with cash given during funerals. Eight, for example -- is considered lucky - the number six is equally  good as it signifies the wish of a smooth year. One thing you might be interested in knowing is that odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit rather than the last. Fifty and ninety are not even numbers and are only appropriate cash gifts for funerals.

"We also check our Chinese astrological horoscope," says Sy. "Different astrological animals would mean the year would be more auspicious for some and less so for others. Some would actually arrange their house differently, depending on the astrological animal." The 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac, then, would be telling on your fortunes for the year ahead.

Above all these practices that the Chinese dedicate themselves to in the hope of a good year, one thing remains constant in every culture - the celebration with family. As with everyone else around the globe, we value spending time with our families in ushering in the new year. And what better way to celebrate with them than with an elaborate spread on the dining tables to ring in the promise of a new year.

From ASIA TATLER DINING PHILIPPINES, here's a toast to you and your family! Kung hei fat choy! Photo credits © noobcook.com,argosy.wordress.com, chocolatesuze.com

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