Food and Culture of the Chinese

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July 24, 2020
Reflection Paper – Food and Culture of the Chinese
Ever since the inception of mankind food has always been more than mere subsistence. It has also been a way of defining one’s identity, connecting with one another, and building relationships with different people, among others. During this semester one of the things that we learned is the importance of food in anthropology. We learned that food has always been connected with cultural traditions, not only in its taste and ingredients but also the underlying traditions that are performed with it. In this article, I would like to share some of my personal experiences celebrating the Chinese New Year with our Chinese friends in the United States. Accordingly, I believe that Chinese delicacies prepared during the occasion connect with traditional Chinese customs from its ingredients, preparation, and consumption.
Dining during the Chinese New Year
My personal experience revolves around the celebration of Chinese New Year in the United States. Back in 2018, my family decided to celebrate the occasion with my father’s best friend and his family. Due to the location of their residence, we decided to stay for 2 days ahead of the celebration to help with the preparations. Before the celebration, I realized that the whole ‘dining experience’ starts a few days before the event. According to my father’s friend, the act of putting up Chinese decorations is a tradition that was commonly practiced in Northern China and is also linked to their spiritual beliefs. He added that traditional Chinese believes that these decorations together with the food and the family gathering woul...