Plan ahead and eat your way towards a better lunar new year
With the Lunar New Year descending upon us, families and households are getting ready to welcome one of the most important festivals of the year, a time when every opportunity to give and receive good blessings for the year ahead are plentiful. When it comes to the traditions and practices leading up to the beginning of the Chinese New Year, it would be impossible to ignore the traditional Chinese New Year candy box, or tray of togetherness, where an array of meaningful goodies are offered to visiting guests throughout the festive days. Knowing your way around the diverse array of candy box offerings will give you the edge when it comes to gaining the blessings you wish for.
The most important item in the traditional Chinese candy box is the melon seed. The most popular melon seeds come in two colours—the smaller, auspicious red seeds (from watermelons widely grown in Ningxia region of China) and the larger, thicker dark seeds ;(from a form of smaller Chinese watermelon whose seeds are larger and harder and flesh) seasoned with five spice. Both varieties of melon seeds are considered to signify riches, and so when you're offered the candy box, it makes sense to begin by taking ;a small handful of melon seeds as per the traditional way; the motion resembles that of grabbing your riches in the next year.