Prepare for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is in less than two weeks, on January 28th this year. In China a whole month is spent in preparations- cleaning, decorating, and cooking. All of the things displayed at Chinese New Year are symbols of the ideal life, tokens and reminders of the good things we hope for: Luck, wealth, long life, and happiness. The traditional colors for New Year decorations are red and gold. Gold is the color of wealth and success, and red is the color of good luck and happiness.

Agenda this week:
1. Housework:

The first and most important preparation for the Chinese New Year is housecleaning. Families give the house a thorough cleaning before Little New Year (Little New Year is this weekend, one week before New Year's Day). In Chinese culture, it’s bad luck for old dust to be left in the New Year, and this month families put everything in order: Scrub floors and cupboards, repaint doors, and trim yards.

Every year on Distaff Day I kick off a month of deep cleaning. (My house has certain mold-related issues that need attention now.) I take it one room at a time, and this week I will work on the bathroom. I hope to:

• Scrub the mildew off the ceiling with detergent and warm water, then use a solution of ¼-cup bleach in 1-quart water. Wait 20 minutes and repeat. Wait another 20 minutes. Apply Borax solution and do not rinse, to help prevent mold from growing again. 
• Peel off the old caulk around the bathtub, and replace (I got started on this a few weeks ago, but only halfway finished). 
• Clean and dust the shelves.

2. Bathroom blessing:
We have a small hanging shelf in the bathroom that my son gave me many years ago. It is covered with a picture of Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of wisdom. Today I light a lotus candle (symbol of purity and perfection) and enjoy a bubble bath in my clean bathroom.

3. Nian-hua and good-luck calligraphy:

My students and I make our own nian-hua
showing what we want the new year to bring us.

When the house is clean, I can begin to fill it with the traditional New Year’s decorations. Chinese families love to hang colorful Nian-hua (New Year pictures) all through the house. These are also called "happy and lucky pictures", because they show symbols of the things folks long for in the new year: Good-luck, wealth, long life, and happiness. 

Practicing the fu character, for luck.

Before the New Year, the family removes all the old pictures from the walls and buys new pictures to replace them. Some are hand-painted, but most are simple, inexpensive wood block prints.






Beautiful Chinese calligraphy is another traditional decoration at the New Year, especially the fu character, which means luck. 

We are beginner’s, but it’s not too bad!

4. Forced Blossoms:

Newly cut branches of forsythia and apple.

Flowers, fruits, and plants are popular at Chinese New Year because they are a symbol of nature’s reawakening in the spring. Families decorate their homes with heaping platters of tangerines and oranges, and vases filled with beautiful spring flowers. 

It’s easy to encourage branches of flowering trees to bloom early. If you plan it carefully, the first blossoms may open on Chinese New Year’s Day, which foretells a year of prosperity for you!

1. Go outside today to look for branches of peach, plum, forsythia, quince, apple, or lilac. Look for branches with many round, fat flower buds (these look different than the longer, thinner leaf buds).

2. Cut the branches and bring them inside. Pound the ends of the branches a bit with a hammer, and put them into a vase filled with lukewarm water.

3. The next day, change the water for cooler water. Put the branches in a cool room, and wait for the buds to open. It will take one to three weeks.

5. Make Jiao-zi dumplings:
These delicious dumplings are prepared ahead of time and frozen, to be to served to guests on New Year’s Day. They symbolize endless treasure because they are crescent-shaped like a kind of ancient Chinese money. When you boil them, try not to break them, or you will see your treasure floating away!

Ingredients:

• half a head of Chinese cabbage
• 1 green onion
• 1 tsp. ginger root
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 c. cubed tofu
• 1-Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce 
• 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• round dumpling wrappers
• soy sauce and rice vinegar for dipping sauce

1. Mince the Chinese cabbage, green onion, ginger root, and garlic, and cube the tofu. 

2. Combine the vegetables and tofu with the sesame oil, soy sauce and cornstarch. Stir fry to cook well.

3. Place a bit of filling in the center of a round dumpling wrapper and fold over into a half-moon. Pinch and pleat the edges together with wet fingers. (Freeze now or cook.)

4. Add oil to a heavy frying pan and heat on medium high. When the pan is hot, stand some of the dumplings upright in the pan, not touching, and add a cup of water. Cover and cook for several minutes.

5. Scoop the dumplings out of the pan and cook the next batch. Serve hot with dipping sauce made of equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar.