The History and Significance of Chinese New Year Goodies: More Than Just Tasty Treats

Before the Chinese New Year sets in, Chinese shops and markets in Singapore become filled with bright colored boxes and trays of Chinese New Year treats. Also called “noshes,” “appetizers,” or more endearingly, “kuehs” or pastries, these fork and spoon food have become a convention of merrymaking during this season. But as much as they are sweet and savory, these snacks have cultural significance and history behind them.

CNY goodies and their origins

• Bak kwa (肉干) – It is similar to the barbecued dried meat slices that are consumed in many countries today.
  Bak kwa is rather Chinese-style jerky – tender pieces of lean meat, pork or beef marinated in spices, boiled soy sauce and sugar before being roasted or grilled till ‘char siew’ or caramelised. Presently, bak kwa can be bought at almost any time of the year, although the “festive roast meat” started to gain popularity among the Hokkien immigrants sometime in the 1930s as a New Year dish. Well, preparing bak kwa needs adequate equipment and skill; therefore, obtaining good bak kwa denotes prosperity and developed into a convention during Chinese New Year. It also represents happiness or a sweetness of a new year ahead The char siu flavor also represents this.  
• Pineapple tarts (鳳梨酥) – More of a biscuits base with pineapple jam in the middle
  In fact, pineapple tarts were first made in Singapore, even before we saw pineapples coming from Australia and elsewhere. The original Chinese name is “ong lai” as it means the phrase “welcome prosperity.” Some ideas, such as the pineapple jam filling, came even later into existence since pineapples symbolise wealth in China. The buttery, crumbly tart crust also looks like gold bars so tarts are also associated with the desire of amassing material wealth and prosperity in the New Year. Because tarts are usually bought ready-made and not home-baked, boxes of these sweets are often presents for CNY.
• Such attachments include love letters, literally translated as lucky rolls (幸运卷), which is a type of wafers produced by rolling peanut and sesame seed stuffing.
  They are named after an old tradition when people who planned the marriage proposals left their loved ones love letters. The cookies themselves as well represent the aspirations such as purity, beauty, and honesty people anticipate in a partner in marriage. Now love letters are created without taking into consideration people’s ages and are ideas of sweet relationships. Combined with more delicate salty and sweet tastes of food, cuts yin and yang to maintain harmonious appearances in the new year.  
• Kueh bangkit (妈妈饼) – crispy wheat flour cookies with rice flour base
  Unlike most snacks which originated from the Chinese this cookie originates from the Malay archipelago and includes ingredients such as coconut milk and flour made from cassava. Follow this were kueh bangkit, which in Malay can literally translate as “biscuits that rise”. They are conical, like little cushions, and the carvings signify wishes of warmth and safety within the home. An opening in the middle is said to trap evil spirits which should not disrupt the tranquility of the home. As mentioned, when shared, the Bangkit cookies also bring people together.
• Candied fruits (蜜饯) – Fruits that is soaked in syrup and coated with a brilliant glaze  
  In china during the old era, the fruits were preserved using sugar in order to ensure that people received the fruits during the winter months when the fruits were scarce because sweetener offered the fruits in their literal and metaphorical sense. It also made the fruits sweeter and packed condensed flavors and favorable significances with a long process. Today, candied kumquats, ginger and winter melon are still arranged to remind everybody the abundance of tasty moments coming. Their wet shine gives different signals associated with dreams turning to reality and tasty feel in mouth.

In essay the significance of CNY snack in Singapore culture 

Apart from resourceful and perceptive metaphors, CNY delicacies in Singapore cherish essential food culture and legacy. The said city has been famous for entrepot trade and as an immigrant trading center across centuries that necessitate the admission of various influences across Asia and Europe into their region. This harmonization can be seen in traditional kueh recipes, for example nonya kueh which comprises of kueh dadar – green coloured ‘crepe’ rolls with coconut filling, clearly of Peranakan origin and salty, deep-fried twists such as karipap which are unarguably of Malay influence. 

CNY goodies also help sustaining cottage industries and small businesses that entail and refer to CNY. Singaporeans do not bake everything from scratch, but buy goods from neighbourhood bakeries, family run factories, and local heritage brands for CNY needs. The end of year sales for old school shops that focus on handmade love letters, pineapple tarts and candied fruits are 30-40% of annual sales helping to sustain craftmanship and small trading businesses. The queues also allow Singaporean to catch up with friends and alleviate themselves through the comfort of local neighbourhood flavours.  

Sustaining piles of high quality kueh continue to strengthen family and ethnic relations and integration among relatives, colleagues, and visitors during this festive peak social occasion. Snacks that readers have in common become topics of conversation about where they came from and memories associated. Blessing messages are also sent through packaging auspicious fruits or eggs, especially the packs kept in specialty tucks. Whether the recipients get the cultural implication inside or not, the gifts hold communities together more tightly.

Everyday twists also keep CNY snack tradition fresh today - like luxury hotel’s BMW pineapple tarts, candied oranges with chocolate coating, korean seaweed rolls, mochi cakes with teh tarik flavoured, and more. Fusion and premium creations reflect new generation palate, indicate indicated improving prosperity and embody multiculturalism better suited and more welcoming for a cosmopolitain city’s current dining scene as in Singapore today. 

Not Just Wire-Awake Buns and Sweet Smelling Spreads 

By having colors and textures similar to the lion dances and flowers during the showtime of the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year goodies in Singapore are now symbolic representations of both the occasions and the associated positive vibes of renewal. However, apart from their preference for traditional and glamorous tastes, these gifts, snacks and mouth-watering treats also inevitably capture the food history of Singapore. It notes their names, ingredients as well as preparation from the immigration history that has influenced the customs in the regions. More importantly their significance - love, fertility, luck prosperity, and harmony are positive values and Singaporeans’ aspiration for themselves and the country as they revel in Lunar New Year celebration. In Singapore, these snacks are not just a great way for satisfying hunger and taste buds, but sweetened snacks that are rich in culture and history; perfect for reinforcing community bonds.