Food offerings are a prayer or a wish and can be addressed to ancestors and other beings such as the Jade Emperor and The Kitchen God. The offering of food serves to bring ancestors and other beings in the other world closer to oneself.

The food offerings serve as a bonding tool to bring both worlds together.





Below a brief list of the food's symbolic meaning:

Abalone (sea snail; 鳆; fù) - definite good fortune Apple (苹果; píngguǒ) - wisdom, peace Apricot, dried (杏脯; xìngfǔ) - gold, wealth Arrowhead (bot.: Sagittaria sagittifolia; 慈菇; cí gū) - benevolence Arrowroot (bot.: Maranta arundinacea; 竹芋) - good life



Bamboo fungus (stinkhorn fungus; bot.: Phallus indusiatus; 竹笙, zhúshēng), also called bamboo pith (竹荪; zhúsūn) - meaning: long life Bamboo shoots (竹笋尖; zhú sǔn jiān) - wealth (term sounds like "wishing that everything would be well" - xǔyuànchí), new start Banana (香蕉; xiāngjiāo), on altar, offering - wish for education, brilliance at work/ school Bean curd, dried/ tofu, dried (豆腐, dòu fǔ)- fulfillment of wealth and happiness (note: dried tofu is not of white colour)

Bean curd sticks (腐竹; fǔ zhú) - blessing the house



Bean sprouts (豆芽; dòu yá, literally "bean sprout/germ" 芽菜; yá cài, literally "sprout vegetable" or 银芽; yín yá, literally "silver sprouts") - 'to your heart's content', positive start into the new year Black moss (hair moss, hair weed), fat choy (髮菜; fàcài; a black hair-like cyanobacteria) - wealth Cabbage, Chinese (pak choy, 白菜) - 100 types of prosperity luck

Cabbage, stuffed packages - wealth (the shape symbolises an ingot) Calms (scallops; 扇贝; shànbèi) - opening of new horizons

calm roll (干贝; gānbèi) - gold, wealth Carrots (胡蘿蔔; hú luóbo; or 紅蘿蔔; hóng luóbo), red colour- good luck Cashew nut (腰果, yāoguǒ)- gold, money (the nut's shape symbolises the gold bar of ancient times) Chicken (whole) (鸡肉; jīròu) - prosperity, togetherness of the family, joy (note: chicken with its head, tail and feet symbolizes completeness) Chinese garlic chives (韭菜, jiǔcài) - everlasting, eternity, long life Coconut, nut (椰子; yēzi), flesh (椰肉; yēròu), juice/milk (椰汁; yēzhī) - promoting togetherness Daylily buds, golden lily buds (金针; jīnzhēn; also called "golden needles") - wealth Duck (鸭肉, yāròu) - fertility Dumplings - dumplings exist in various kind, see: jiaozi dumplings, yuanxiao/ tangyuan/ tangtuan dumplings Egg (蛋, dàn) - fertility

egg roll (蛋皮春卷, dàn pí chūn juǎn) - money, wealth, gold Fa Gao (发糕; fāgāo) the steamed "Prosperity Cake"; the sound "fa" means either "to raise/generate" or "be prosperous" Fish (whole) - The word 魚 (yú), meaning "fish", has the same pronunciation as the word 餘, which is "remain or surplus", 'having leftovers of money', an increase in prosperity

fish ball (鱼蛋; yúdàn) - reunion Golden lilly buds, Daylily (bot.: Hemerocallis; 金针; jīnzhēn) - wealth Gingko nuts ( 銀杏; yín xìng; or 白果, bái guǒ)- hope for silver, wealth (the nut's shape represents a silver yuanbao/ ingot) Dried unbroken glass noodles symbolise long life.

Photo: © Valeska Gehrmann

Glass noodles, Chinese vermicelli, cellophane noodle, noodle threads (粉絲; fěn sī; also called "bean threads ", mung bean thread) - silver chain Grapes (葡萄, pútaó) - wealth, abundance, fertility, many descendants, family harmony Jiaozi- Dumplings (jiǎozi, 饺子) - wealth (the shape of the jiaozi dumplings is that of a yuanbao ingot, also the word jiǎozi shares the same pronunciation with 角子 (jiǎozi) that is a small jiao coin used in old times. Other meanings: togetherness, heavenly blessing



Jujube symbolise wealth, prosperity, as well as fertility

Photo: © nationsonline.org

Jujube (kind of date, red colour; 枣; zǎo, candied jujube: 蜜枣; mìzǎo) - wealth, prosperity, fertility Kumquat (金橘; jīn jú) - gold, hence fortune, wealth Lettuce (生菜; shēngcài) - prosperity

lettuce roll, food being rolled into lettuce - having a child soon Longan (龙眼) - many good son Lotus seeds/ -nuts/ -beans (蓮子; lián zĭ) - a full wallet, many (male) offspring

lotus seeds,crystallized (蓮子糖; lián zĭ táng) - a full wallet, many (male) offspring Lychee (荔枝; lìzhī) - close family ties Maize (玉米; yùmǐ) - growth Mandarin (瓯柑; ōugān) - gold, wealth Meat ball (肉丸; ròuwán)- reunion Melon (瓜; guā) - family unity

melon, candied - growth, good health Mixed vegetable (什锦蔬菜; shíjǐn shūcài) - family harmony Muer mushroom, Black fungus, Three ear fungus, Wood ear (木耳; mù ěr) - longevity Noodles (面条; miàntiáo) uncut - long life Onion (洋葱; yángcōng) - cleverness Orange (柑橘; gānjú) - wealth, good fortune, gold Oyster (牡蠣; mǔlì) - receptivity to good fortune, good business

Oyster, dried (ho xi) - all good things, good luck Peach - immortality

Peach, pair of (桃; táo) - wealth, abundance, long healthy life, great fortune for many generations Peanuts (花生; huāshēng) - health, long life, birth of prosperity, continuous growth, multiplication in wealth and good fortune, stability Pineapple (凤梨; fènglí) - wealth, luck, excellent fortune, gambling luck



Pomegranate symbolises many offsprings

Photo: © Valeska Gehrmann

Pomegranate (石榴; shíliu) - many offsprings Pomelo (柚子; yòuzi) - abundance, prosperity, having children, good health, family unity Pork (猪肉; zhūròu) - strength, wealth, abundant blessing Prawn (大虾; dàxiā) - liveliness Pumpkin (南瓜; nánguā) - prosperity, abundance, descendant's luck, illustrious children, enchantment, fruit draws earth energy to manifest gold Rice (米饭; mǐfàn) - fertility, luck, wealth, rice symbolizes a link between Heaven (Gods) and Earth (Men)

Nian gao, (Chinese: 年糕; pinyin: nián'gāo) Sticky (Rice) cake, Chinese new year's cake. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao because it has the symbolism of increasing prosperity every year. The New Year greeting 'Nian Nian Gao Sheng' (年年高升 niánnián gāoshēng) is to wish people "advance toward higher positions and prosperity step by step."

Sticky rice - cohering of family

Rice is one of the Twelve Symbols of Sovereignty Roseapple (Syzygium jambos; 蒲桃; pú táo) - calmness, peace of mind, no fighting Seaweed, especially black moss, Fat Choy, (in Chinese: 髮菜; pinyin: fàcài; literal meaning: hair vegetable). The two syllables of Fat Choy in Cantonese sound the same as a Cantonese Chinese New Year greeting "Gung1 hei2 faat3 choi4" (恭喜发财) meaning "congratulations and be prosperous"; additional meanings: - good luck, exceeding wealth. Seeds - lotus seeds, watermelon seeds, etc. - having a large number of children 籽 [zǐ] Shitake mushrooms, since long a symbol of longevity in Asia, they also symbolise sizing opportunities

Photo: © nationsonline.org

Shitake, Black mushroom (冬菇; dōnggū) - longevity, sizing opportunities Shrimp (小虾; xiǎoxiā) - happiness and good fortune Slender Noodle (細粉; xì fě) - see glass noodle Snowpeas (荷蘭豆; hélándòu) - unity Spring roll (春卷; chūnjuǎn) - wealth (the shape represents a gold bar) Sweet corn (甜玉米; tián yùmǐ) - growth, increase Sweets, (糖食; tángshí, 糖果;tángguǒ) rice cake (年糕; nián'gāo) - safety, good fortune and 'sweeten' the new year Tangerine (橘; jú) - luck Tangtuan (湯團, tāngtuán,"round dumplings in soup"), sweet dumplings - togetherness, reunion Tangyuan ( 湯圓 ,tāngyuán, "round balls in soup"), sweet dumplings - togetherness, reunion Tofu, dried (豆腐干; dòufǔgān) - fulfillment of wealth and happiness, blessing the houses (note: dried tofu is not of white colour) Tofu, fried (炸豆腐; zhá dòufǔ) - gold, hence wealth Turnip cake (萝卜糕; luóbo gāo) - good omen Vegetable, green (绿叶菜; lǜyècài) - close family ties

vegetable/ tofu (dried) - harmony, happiness and prosperity Walnut (核桃仁; hétàorén) - happiness of the entire family Water chestnut (荸薺; bíqí) - unity Winter noodel (冬粉, dōng fěn) - see glass noodle Yuanxiao, sweet dumpling (元宵; yuánxiāo) - togetherness, reunion NOTE:

Presenting a ‘whole’ chicken with its head, tail and feet symbolizes completeness.

Fresh bean curd / tofu is not included as it is white and unlucky for New Year as the colour signifies death and misfortune.

Fresh fruits symbolise life and new beginnings.

Sugared fruits are supposed to sweeten one’s upcoming year.

Sweets and fruits are served on a round tray, the form resembling togetherness, hence the tray is called the 'Tray of Togetherness'. Sweets offered on the tray add up to the number 8, because eight is a lucky number and symbolises fortune.

A coin might be hidden in one dumpling, and the person who will find it is supposed to be showered with good fortune and wealth.



See also:

Symbolism of Animals

Symbolism of Colours

Symbolism of Flowers, Fruits and Trees in Chinese Decoration and Decorative Arts

Ancestor Worship





Food offering with red banner for Chinese New Year

Photo © Valeska Gehrmann