How to Set the Table for the Chinese New Year

Set a traditional dinner table for Chú Xī or another Chinese New Year meal.

The most important event celebrated by Chinese families around the world is the Lunar New Year, which lasts 15 days and typically occurs during January or February. Called Chūn Jié, which translates to "spring festival," the Chinese New Year is a joyous time of festivities, personal reflection and creating auspicious beginnings. Part of the Chinese New Year celebration is the New Year's eve reunion dinner, called Chú Xī or "eve of the passing year," which gives extended family members a chance to reconnect and share their hopes for the upcoming year.

Things You'll Need

• Dinner table (preferably round) with chairs
• Plates
• Water or beer cups
• Tea cups
• Wine or shot glass (optional)
• Bowls
• Chop stick sets
• Chop stick resting dishes
• Napkins
• Decor items (table runner, paper lanterns, etc.)
• Gifts (optional)

Instructions

1. Prepare a table and chairs to accommodate the number of guests you intend to serve at your Chinese New Year dinner. Chinese tradition prefers a round table to a square or rectangular one, as more people can be comfortably seated and easily face other diners. To follow formalities, give your guest of honor, the oldest member of your family or your most respected dinner guest, either a central seat that faces eastward or the seat that offers the best view of the entrance and other diners. Make Chinese-inspired place cards to make finding the right seat easy for your guests.

2. Set a place for each diner with a bowl, small dish, pair of chop sticks, known as "kuaizi" in Chinese, a soup spoon, at least one cup and a napkin. Arrange these items in a pleasing way, and make each place setting to look the same to create a uniform appearance on the dinner table. If you are serving more than one drink, different glasses will need to be present at each place setting.

3. Serve several different dishes in the center of the dinner table, communal style, once all your guests have been seated. Your menu should include a wide variety of ingredients, textures and flavors, as well as foods that have symbolic meanings or have names that sound like words of good fortune. Implore the guests of your Chinese New Year dinner to help themselves after any toasts, and encourage them to eat directly from the serving trays to keep with tradition. If space is limited, serve small, individual soup bowls on the diner's right and rice bowls on the left.

4. Add decor items that signify good luck and new beginnings to dress up your Chinese New Year dinner table. Red, yellow, purple and gold colors are auspicious in Chinese culture, and decorations featuring these shades are often made anew for New Year celebrations to attract love, wealth, longevity and good fortune in the upcoming months. Decorate your dinner table with a colorful runner, flower arrangements or other items to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Tips & Warnings

• Present your dinner guests with a pair of Mandarin oranges with warm wishes for an auspicious New Year upon their arrival to keep with tradition.

• Avoid including decorations that are white or black in color, as they are usually associated with negativity and sorrow in Chinese culture.

• Follow traditional etiquette practices while using chop sticks, as there are many taboos in regards to using them improperly.

References

• Travel China Guide; China Travel Tips; Chinese Table Manners
• Chinatownology: Chinese New Year
• Chinatownology: Chinese New Year Celebration
• China Travel; Chinese Food Culture; Chinese Table Manners; 2010
• China Internet Information Center; Culture; Traditional Dining Etiquette; 2004
• Nations Online; Chinese Customs and Traditions Glossary; Symbolism of Colours
• Year of the Hare: Chinese New Year