Food and Celebrations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Food and Celebrations - Essay Example The festivals and food of China displays the large variety of ethnic groups which reside in the country (Chinese Festival Food Recipes for New Year, 2013). The likings and menu of the people of North China will be different from those living in South China. However, the New Year is a special event on which all the family gets together to celebrate the event and to bring good luck. Chinese New Year is an important event in the Chinese history. Chinese people believe that the old year takes with it all the dark things and the New Year brings all the good. Therefore every hour of the New Year is important. People do not sleep over the New Year’s Eve. They try to decorate their houses, make their own personal preparations and prepare special meals. Even the last few years of the old year are given utmost importance. According to Robinson (2012, pp. 23) Chinese people do not work on the New Year’s day as it will bring them hard luck and will make them work throughout the year. Food preparations are given utmost importance on New Year. The ingredients of the food should be fresh and in abundance. Some dishes have to be prepared in the last hours of the old year. The Nian Goa cake prepared on the Chinese New Year should be higher as its height is associated with the amount of benefits of the coming year (Robinson, 2012, pp. 23). Artistic expression is clearly seen in the Chinese dishes. They do not pay attention to the taste alone but also to the cutlery used for dishing out. A lot of variety can be found in Chinese cuisine. They have the ability to cook anything to the best of flavours. Symbolism in Chinese cuisine is an important factor as is symbolism in other parts of life of the Chinese people. each month of the Chinese New Year is named after animals. It characterizes the personality of the people born in those months. Robinson (2012, pp. 25) states that the kitchen god is said to be