過年當然少不了各種美食，你知道過年為什么要吃餃子和春卷嗎？為什么過年吃白菜餡餃子比吃酸菜餡餃子吉利？今天我們就來揭示這些吉利食物的寓意。

Fish — an Increase in Prosperity
魚——越來越富足

In Chinese, "fish" (魚 Yú /yoo/) sounds like 'surplus'. Chinese people always like to have a surplus at the end of the year, because they think if they have managed to save something at the end of the year, then they can make more in the next year.
在中文里，“魚”和“余”諧音。中國人喜歡在年末有結余，因為他們認為如果自己能在年底攢下一些財富，明年他們將能賺取更多。

不同的魚都有什么寓意？

What fish should be chosen for the New Year feast is based on auspicious homophonics.
年夜飯上要選用什么魚取決于發音是否吉利。

Crucian carp: As the first character of ‘crucian carp' (鯽魚 jìyú /jee-yoo/) sounds like the Chinese word 吉 (jí /jee/ ‘good luck'), eating crucian carp is considered to bring good luck for the next year.
鯽魚：因為鯽魚的“鯽”和吉利的“吉”諧音，所以吃鯽魚被認為可以給來年帶來好運。

Chinese mud carp: The first part of the Chinese for “mud carp” (鯉魚 lǐyú /lee-yoo/) is pronounced like the word for gifts (禮 lǐ /lee/). So Chinese people think eating mud carp during the Chinese New Year symbolizes wishing for good fortune.
鯉魚：鯉魚的“鯉”和“禮”諧音。所以中國人認為過年吃鯉魚象征著盼望好運。

Catfish: The Chinese for “catfish” (鯰魚 niányú /nyen-yoo/) sounds like 年余 (nián yú) meaning ‘year surplus'. So eating catfish is a wish for a surplus in the year.
鯰魚：“鯰魚”和“年余”發音相同。所以吃鯰魚是希望一年有富余。

Eating two fish, one on New Year's Eve and one on New Year's Day, (if written in a certain way) sounds like a wish for a surplus year-after-year.
吃兩條魚，除夕吃一條，大年初一吃一條，是希望年年有余（年年有魚）。

If only one catfish is eaten, eating the upper part of the fish on New Year's Eve and the remainder on the first day of the new year can be spoken with the same homophonic meaning.
如果只做了一條鯰魚，在除夕吃掉上半條，到大年初一再吃掉下半條，也有同樣的意思。

魚的吃法也很重要，來看看過年吃魚都有什么講究：

The fish should be the last dish left with some left over, as this has auspicious homophonics for there being surpluses every year. This is practiced north of the Yangtze River, but in other areas the head and tail of the fish shouldn't be eaten until the beginning of the year, which expresses the hope that the year will start and finish with surplus.
魚應該是吃剩下的最后一道菜，而且還不能全吃完，因為這象征著年年有“余”。這是長江以北地區的習俗，在其他一些地區魚頭和魚尾要到大年初一才能吃，這代表著從年頭到年尾都有富余的希望。

There are some rules related to the position of the fish.
關于魚的擺放也有一些講究。

The head should be placed toward distinguished guests or elders, representing respect.
魚頭應該朝著尊貴的客人或長輩，代表尊重。

Diners can enjoy the fish only after the one who faces the fish head eats first.
只有魚頭所對的人先吃，其他人才能下筷。

The fish shouldn't be moved. The two people who face the head and tail of fish should drink together, as this is considered to have a lucky meaning.
魚不能被移動。魚頭和魚尾所對的人應該一起喝一杯，這樣做被認為很吉利。

Chinese Dumplings — Wealth
餃子——財富

With a history of more than 1,800 years, dumplings (餃子 Jiǎozi /jyaoww-dzrr/) are a classic Chinese food, and a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year's Eve, widely popular in China, especially in North China.
擁有1800多年歷史的餃子是經典的中國美食，是年夜飯的一道傳統菜，在中國，尤其是中國北方很常見。

Chinese dumplings can be made to look like Chinese silver ingots (which are not bars, but boat-shaped, oval, and turned up at the two ends). Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations, the more money you can make in the New Year.
有人把餃子包得像元寶（寓意：招財進寶）。傳說你在慶祝新年時吃的餃子越多，你在來年掙的錢越多。

Dumplings generally consist of minced meat and finely-chopped vegetables wrapped in a thin and elastic dough skin. Popular fillings are minced pork, diced shrimp, fish, ground chicken, beef, and vegetables. They can be cooked by boiling, steaming, frying or baking.
餃子里通常包的是肉餡和切碎的蔬菜，面皮薄而有彈性。人們愛吃的餃子餡有絞肉、蝦仁、魚肉、碎雞肉、牛肉和蔬菜。餃子可以煮、蒸、煎或烤。

Chinese don't eat Chinese sauerkraut (酸菜 suāncài /swann-tseye/) dumplings at Spring Festival, because it implies a poor and difficult future. On New Year's Eve it is a tradition to eat dumplings with cabbage and radish, implying that one's skin will become fair and one's mood will become gentle.
中國人不在春節吃酸菜餡餃子，因為這暗示著貧窮艱苦的未來。除夕的傳統是吃白菜蘿卜餡餃子，據說吃了皮膚能變白，性格變溫和。

怎樣能包出吉利的餃子？

When making dumplings there should be a good number of pleats. If you make the junction too flat, it is thought to purport poverty.
包餃子要多捏幾個褶。如果你把餃子邊捏得過平，意味著貧窮。

Some Chinese put a white thread inside a dumpling, and the one who eats that dumpling is supposed to possess longevity. Sometimes a copper coin is put in a dumpling, and the one who eats it is supposed to become wealthy.
有的中國人會在餃子里放一條白線，吃到這個白線餃子的人將會長壽。有時還會在餃子里放一個銅幣，吃到銅幣的人將會富有。

Dumplings should be arranged in lines instead of circles, because circles of dumplings are supposed to mean one's life will go round in circles, never going anywhere.
餃子要按直線擺放，不能擺成圓圈，因為排成圓圈的餃子意味著生活會一直在原地繞。

Spring Rolls — Wealth
春卷——財富

Spring rolls (春卷 Chūnjuǎn /chwnn- jwen/) get their name because they are traditionally eaten during the Spring Festival. It is a dish especially popular in East China: Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, etc.
春卷是春節期間吃的傳統食物，故此得名。春卷在中國東部很受歡迎：江西、江蘇、上海、福建、廣州、深圳、香港等。

Spring rolls are a Cantonese dim sum dish of cylindrical-shaped rolls filled with vegetables, meat, or something sweet. Fillings are wrapped in thin dough wrappers, then fried, when the spring rolls are given their golden-yellow color.
春卷是一種廣式點心，用薄面皮把蔬菜、肉或甜餡包成圓柱形的卷，然后油炸至金黃色。（寓意：黃金萬兩）

Glutinous Rice Cake — a Higher Income or Position
年糕——更高的收入或職位

In Chinese, glutinous rice cake (年糕 Niángāo /nyen-gaoww/) sounds like it means "'getting higher year-on- by year"'. The main ingredients of niangao are sticky rice, sugar, chestnuts, Chinese dates, and lotus leaves.
在中文里，“年糕”的發音同“年高”，寓意“年年高”。年糕的主要原料是糯米、糖、栗子、棗和荷葉。

Sweet Rice Balls — Family Togetherness
湯圓——闔家團圓

Sweet rice ball (湯圓 Tāngyuán /tung-ywen/) is the main food for China's Lantern Festival, however, in south China, people eat them throughout the Spring Festival. The pronunciation and round shape of tangyuan are associated with reunion and being together. That’s why they are favored by the Chinese during the New Year celebrations.
湯圓是中國元宵節的主要食物，但在中國南方，人們春節期間也會吃湯圓。湯圓的發音和形狀與團圓有關。這也是為什么中國人喜歡在慶祝新年時吃湯圓的原因。

Good Fortune Fruit — Fullness and Wealth
吉利的水果——豐盈和富裕

Certain fruits are eaten during the Chinese New Year period, such as tangerines and oranges, and pomeloes. They are selected as they are particularly round and "golden" in color, symbolizing fullness and wealth, but more obviously for the lucky sound they bring when spoken.
春節期間會吃特定的水果，比如桔子、橙子和柚子。它們被選為吉利的水果是因為它們都特別圓，而且顏色金燦燦的，象征著豐盈和富裕，但更多的是因為它們的發音。

Eating and displaying tangerines and oranges is believed to bring good luck and fortune due to their pronunciation, and even writing. The Chinese for orange (and tangerine) is 橙 (chéng /chnng/), which sounds the same as the Chinese for 'success' (成). One of the ways of writing tangerine (桔 jú /jyoo/) contains the Chinese character for luck (吉 jí /jee/).
食用、展示桔子和橙子被認為可以帶來好運和財富，因為它們的發音和文字都很吉利。中文里，“橙”和“成”發音相同。“桔”字中含有吉利的“吉”字。

Eating pomeloes/shaddocks is thought to bring continuous prosperity. The more you eat, the more wealth it will bring, as the traditional saying goes. The Chinese for pomelo (柚 yòu /yo/) sounds like 'to have' (有 yǒu), except for the tone, and exactly like 'again' (又 yòu).
吃柚子據說能帶來持久的繁榮。老話說，你吃的柚子越多，柚子給你帶來的財富就會越多。中文里的“柚”和“有”諧音，和“又”的發音也相同。

說到底，不管吃什么，圖的都是個吉利，希望2018年大家都招財進寶（餃子）、黃金萬兩（春卷）、年年高（年糕）！

英文來源：China Highlights
翻譯&編輯：丹妮