Happy Chinese New Year to EVERYONE!!!

Today is Chinese New Year's Eve and it's a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner. It is also known as Chú Xī (除夕) or "Eve of the Passing Year."

The annual dinner normally includes dishes like chicken and pork. Fish (魚, yú) is also one of the dishes, but intentionally not to be finished, and the remaining fish is stored overnight.

Why is that so?
Because 年年有魚/餘; (nián nián yǒu yú, or "every year there is fish/leftover") is a homophone for phrases which mean "be blessed every year" or "have profit every year". Similarly there is also a black hair-like algae, "fat choy"(髮菜, fǎ cài, literally "hair vegetable" in Cantonese) is also one of the featured dishes since its name sounds similar to "prosperity"(發財, fā cái).

And yes Chinese New Year cannot go without eating Yusheng too!!!

The tossing of "yu sheng" (鱼生) -- a raw fish salad also known as 'yee sang' or 'yuu sahng' -- is a common practice among the Chinese, symbolizing abundance, prosperity and vigor, especially in Singapore.

The ritual is also sometimes referred to as 'lo hei', which means to 'toss up luck', or 'toss and rise'. In other words, the higher you chuck your food, the more luck and good fortune will rain down on you in the coming year. Some of the common word people will say during this ritual are "Huat Ah", "歩歩高升", "年年有魚" , etc...

This year is the year of the Dragon! I love Dragon!!!

Hope this year will be a good year for everyone!!!

May everyone Prosper in 2012!!! HUAT AH!!!