Today is the 1st day of the 1st month in Lunar Calendar. On the first day, the oldest and most senior members will be visited, the visits serve to strengthen family kinship. This practice is called 拜年 ( bai nian, or wishing somebody a Happy New Year). The visitor will bring a small gift to the household which will be visited- usually two mandarin oranges, as the fruit symbolises gold, hence wealth and good fortune. Giving oranges in pairs because of the preference of number two in Chinese culture as there is an idiom saying 好事成双 ( hao shi cheng shuang, good things come in pairs). Children or unmarried will receive 红包 (hong bao, or red packet) from the senior. The red colour of the envelope symbolises good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. It is traditional to put brand new notes inside red packets and also to avoid opening the packets in front of the relatives. There is also the tradition of welcoming guests with tea and sweet treats, such as sugared fruits which are supposed to sweeten one’s upcoming year. Sweets and fruits are served on a round tray - the form resembling togetherness and hence the tray is most commonly translated as the “Tray of Togetherness” (八宝盒，ba bao he). The sweets will be arranged in eight units, as the number eight symbolises luck as the Chinese word 8 (ba) sounds similar to prosperity (fa, 发). In addition, the fruit pomelo is always consumed at Chinese New Year as its Chinese name 柚 (you) sounds exactly same to the word ‘to have’ (有, you) in the language. This fruit signifies abundance in Chinese food symbolism.

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