Chinese New Year finnally came, the day of family reunions. In changzhou, although the dishes prepared for Chinese New Year's Eve are different from home to home, some with good hope are always the same. As you know, diet culture is people's creation and achievement in diet. Now, people may pay more attention to what it represents than the food itself, particularly in important festivals like today.
新年终于到来。在常州，每家每户的年夜饭都是不同的，但是总有那么几样菜是一样的。饮食文化可以说是我们最大的创造和成就，现在比起食物本身，人们更加在意其中的寓意，尤其是在今天这样的重要节日。
Fish 鱼
We call fish Yu（鱼）in Chinese which pronunces the same with 余. It means surplus year-after-year（年年有余 Nián nián yǒu yú）. Also, the elders will remind you not to eat them all. It stands for keeping fortune continuing.
鱼与余同音，寓意年年有余，而且不能全吃光，寓意富贵有余。
Green vegetables 青菜
Fried green vegetables are necessary for each home, because they means a bond of affection between each family numbers（亲亲热热qīn qīn rè rè）. If you are a little girl or a naughty boy, the elders may ask you to eat them more with a good wish that you will behave better and be a good boy in the coming year. All is because the green vegetables are pronounced "Qing tou" in Changzhou dialect which means "polite".
炒青菜是每家必备，寓意家人亲亲热热。长辈会让小孩子多吃点，因为常州方言里，青菜的发音“青头”是有礼貌、懂事的意思。
Soybean Sprout 黄豆芽
Soybean sprout is also called Ruyi （如意菜）. It represents good fortune and best wishes. It will also be added into longevity noodles in your birthday.
黄豆芽又叫如意菜，寓意吉祥如意。生日吃的长寿面里也会经常添加黄豆芽。
Eight-treasure Rice 八宝饭
Eight-treasure Rice（八宝饭 bā bǎo fàn） has another name called sweet rice （甜饭tián fàn）.It represents reunion the same meaning as tangyuan and jiaozi（huntun in Changhzou）. It is especially popular in the south
八宝饭又叫甜饭，和汤圆、水饺（常州叫馄饨）一样寓意团圆，在南方比较流行。
For most people especially young people like me will do three things tonight. Stay up late to give and grab red envelopes in Wechat and comment on(we said tu cao吐槽 in Chinese) CCTV's New Year Gala. After 22:18, they will ask each other one question, How much money you have got from "Five blessings", an activity made by Alipay. Anyone joined in will get an envelope ranging from 0.30 yuan to 666 yuan. Absolutely, I got 1.88 yuan.
We play a red envelope game with friends. Every time we send 8 red envelopes totally 10 Yuan and whoever grab the least or the most money will send next. Ok, it seems I have missed a lot.
对于大多数人特别是像我一样的年轻人来说，今晚会做三件事。熬夜看春晚，边吐槽边抢红包，在22:18分之后相互问：五福你拿了多少红包。显然，我只拿到了我们1.88元。我们会玩红包游戏，每次在群里发10元分8个红包，抢到最大或最小红包的那个再接着发。看来，我已经错过了很多。
Finally, DragonCity team hope you all a peaceful and enjoyable holiday and wish you the best for 2017.☺☺☺☺☺☺
最后，DragonCity团队祝你鸡年大吉，假期美好，更祝你在新的一年变得更好。
