"In Chinese culture - not the only Asian culture to celebrate the holiday, surely, but a big one in the Bay Area - think whole fish, which represents family and sharing. Or think dumplings, which represent wealth and good fortune with shapes recalling gold ingots. And across regions and families, there are, of course, the personal traditions that mark this most auspicious holiday."
"Our family specifically, we eat nian gao, a sticky rice cake. It's very prevalent in Shanghainese families. It's sliced rice cakes that get stir-fried with pork or Chinese sausage, and then there's vegetables in it. We also have it in sweet form, which is a pressed sticky-rice cake. It has dates, and it's red, and you slice it and eat it in the morning on New Year's Day."
Lunar New Year 2026 falls on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Common celebratory dishes include whole fish to symbolize family and sharing, and dumplings shaped like gold ingots to symbolize wealth and good fortune. Egg rolls or spring rolls, often eaten as snacks while cooking, symbolize wealth because of their gold-bar shape. Longevity noodles represent a long life. Nian gao, a sticky rice cake prevalent in Shanghainese families, appears both savory (stir-fried with pork or Chinese sausage and vegetables) and sweet (pressed, red with dates) and is eaten on New Year's morning. Regional and family traditions produce additional personal dishes.
Read at The Mercury News
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