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年廿三，要谢灶，饮食平安大功劳；年廿四，起油镬，煎堆蛋散脆卜卜；年廿八，洗邋遢，你又抹时我又抹；年廿九，行花街，行个大运无拖拉。年卅晚，要团年，一家大细食为先。还有不到两周就过年了，想必大家已经迫不及待了吧！广州过年有哪些习俗？虽然广州越来越现代化了，但传统习俗不能忘呢。
The Chinese New Year is less than two weeks away. If you are planning to spend the Spring Festival in Guangzhou, try to remember the following customs and share the fun of the celebrations.
Spring Festival shopping1New Year door scrolls and door gods
New year door gods and door scrolls are an integral part of the Chinese New Year. Why the obsession with the color red? Because in China, red represents auspiciousness.
Spring Festival door scrolls usually contain auspicious couplets and phrases such as:
"旺 (wang)" and "兴 (xing)," meaning prosperous;
"喜 (xi)" and "乐 (le)," meaning happiness;
"平安 (ping'an)," meaning safety;
"如意 (ruyi)," meaning everything turns out just as we hope.
The character "福 (fu, or blessings)" is written on a central square, which is usually pasted upside down, which sounds similar to "fu dao le (good fortune has arrived)." Therefore, the paper square represents the "arrival" of spring and the "coming" of a prosperous year.
In addition to the scrolls, people also paste fierce-looking "menshen," or door god, on the door, to ward off evil spirits and protect the family inside.
2Auspicious flowers
Cantonese traditionally enjoy visiting Spring Festival flower fairs, so that they can take home a few auspicious plants before the lunar New Year. Each flower has its own auspicious meaning. Peach blossom, for example, signifies romance and a happy marriage; tangerine trees are seen as auspicious, because the pronunciation of tangerine (桔) — "gat" — sounds the same as "吉" ("gat," or auspiciousness) in Cantonese; butterfly orchids suggest future happiness.
Tangerine tree
Just as Western decorations are taken down on the 12th day of Christmas, withering flowers are removed from Chinese homes around the seventh day of the New Year celebrations, because no signs of "declining" could be seen inside the house.
3Auspicious meat and vegetables
Mothers in Guangzhou and many other parts of the province will be buying meat and vegetables with auspicious Chinese meanings, hoping for a good start into the new year. These include:
"生菜 (lettuce, or sang-coi)," which sounds like "生财 (making money, or sheng-tsai)" in Cantonese;
"芹菜 (celery, or kan-coi)," which sounds like "勤力 (diligent, or kan-lik)" in Cantonese;
"葱 (scallion, or cung)," which sounds like "聪 (cleverness, or cung)" in Chinese;
"鱼 (fish, or jyu)," which sounds the same as "余 (surplus, or jyu);"
At the Chinese New Year' Eve family feast, there are many dishes with auspicious names, all representing good wishes for the New Year.
4Snacks
Traditionally, families in Guangdong province, as well as Hong Kong, would prepare a wokful of cooking oil and deep-fry home-made snacks, because here, the oil carries people's wishes for abundance for the New Year. The most common snacks in Guangzhou include Gok Zai (角仔, fried dumpling-shape dough with peanut and sesame filling), Daan Saan (蛋散, crisp egg twist), and Zin Deoi (煎堆, fried sticky rice ball with sesame). These days, this kind of fried comfort food comes mainly from the supermarket.
Fried dumpling-shape dough, with peanut and sesame filling.
Crisp egg twists.
Fried sticky rice balls with sesame. Fillings include popcorn and bean paste.
Bright red melon seeds are clearly extremely auspicious.
5Red envelopes/lucky money
While Westerners give wrapped presents, the tradition here is to give out lucky money. Older people give it to their younger family members, especially those who are not yet married. Slipping in a single 10 yuan note is usually enough for random youngsters, but thicker envelopes are generally expected for closer friends and relatives.
This custom differs in North China, where lucky money is given to only youngsters by adults, and the amount is often 50 yuan or more. With the advent of social media, sending out digital red packets on WeChat is also a growing trend.
New Year's greetings
Greet your Chinese friends with following phrases. They will be very pleased to hear these greetings.
"Xin Nian Kuai Le (新年快乐)," or "Guo Nian Hao (过年好)": Happy New Year!
"Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜发财)": Wishing you happiness and prosperity!
"Xin Xiang Shi Cheng (心想事成)," or "Wan Shi Ru Yi (万事如意)": May all your wishes come true.
New Year shopping venues1Yide Lu (一德路商圈)
Highlight: One-stop shopping destination for the Spring Festival
What to buy: Dried seafood, decorative items, such as couplets, lanterns and Chinese knots
Transportation: Metro Line 2, Haizhu Square Station; or Metro Line 6, Yide Lu Station, Exit A (地铁2号线海珠广场站；地铁6号线一德路站A出口)
2
Dishipu Lu, Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street
(上下九第十甫路商圈)
Highlight: Time-honored local brands, such as Guangzhou Restaurant (广州酒家), Lian Xiang Lou (莲香楼) and Huang Shang Huang (皇上皇), showcasing the authentic Cantonese styles
What to buy: Cantonese desserts and Cantonese prosciutto
Transportation: Metro Line 1, Changshou Lu Station, Exit A (地铁1号线长寿路站A出口，沿宝华路直走左转)
3Fangcun Wholesale Flower Market (芳村商圈)
Highlight: Lingnan flower wholesale market
What to buy: Spring flowers, orange trees, birds and goldfish
Transportation: Metro Line 5, Jiaokou Station, Exit A2 (地铁5号线滘口站A2出口)
Source: WECHAT(SilkRoadPost)