Happy Chinese New Year 2017 – The Year of the Rooster! I couldn’t resist having a little fun at the table in celebration!
The Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, begins with the first new moon of the year. This year is the Year of the Rooster with the New Year arriving January 28th.
The festivities start the day before the New Year and continue until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the New Year, so there’s still plenty of time to celebrate!
According to tradition, each year of the Chinese calendar is associated with one of the twelve zodiac signs: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, or pig. You can read more about the attributes and the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, here.
Ralph Lauren Mandarin Blue is at the table in celebration, paired with blue and white ceramic chopsticks found at World Market.
The Chinese New Year is full of dragon dances, fireworks, feasts, gift-giving, and lantern festivals. Red is the Chinese national color and represents happiness, beauty, success and good fortune.
A red rooster provides a centerpiece, joining oranges, plums, red votives, mini orchids, narcissus bulbs, fortune cookies and Good Fortune chocolate coins, parading down the center of the table in celebration.
Orchids are considered to be symbolic of ‘many children’ or fertility and abundance in Chinese culture, and signify refinement, luxury and innocence.
Narcissus or Water Fairy Flowers are a symbol of good fortune and prosperity, and a common flower of the China New Year festival. The growth springing from the brown bulbs, symbolizes the beginning of a new year.
Resembling the sun, oranges are aligned with the yang (positive) principle, being an auspicious symbol of abundance and happiness. Oranges and tangerines are among the good luck foods, said to bring wealth and luck.
Fish is another of the 7 lucky foods to eat during Chinese New Year, to bring an increase in prosperity and wish for a surplus in the new year.
Plums are symbolic of wealth, fortune, gold, prosperity and fertility and because of their roundness, represent infinite good luck.
It’s not a celebration without some sparklers. . .
And some fortune cookie wisdom:
Take that chance you’ve been considering.
Your simple kindness today will be rewarded multiple times.
You will have much to be thankful for in the coming year.
Here are some good luck foods and recipes for celebrating Chinese New Year to enjoy. Click on the links for the complete recipe.
Long Life Noodle Soup for good luck for Chinese New Year, accompanied by a stroll through Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
Blood Orange-Shrimp Stir-Fry
Year of the Rooster Chinese New Year Table:
Ralph Lauren Mandarin Blue Dinnerware / T.J. Maxx, recently
White Chargers / HomeGoods, several years ago
Rattan Placemats / Target, several years ago
Napkins and Tablecloth / T.J. Maxx
Red Rooster / Hobby Lobby, several years ago, used, here
Flatware / Wallace Gold Accent Corsica
Mini Fish dishes / HomeGoods, several years ago
Blue Goblets / Pfaltzgraff All Purpose Glasses
Good Fortune Chocolate Coins, Blue and White Chopsticks / World Market
鸡年大吉 Jínián dàjí
Lots of luck for this Rooster year!
Side Note: I’m the Year of the Ox and my astrology sign is Taurus. . . no, I’m not the least bit stubborn ;)
WOW!!! Your table is CROWING with beauty, luck and good food!! What else could a ROOSTER ask for!! 🐲🐉💥✨
Love this!
Mary, what a gorgeous and creative table! I admit to not being very knowledgeable about the Chinese New Year and its celebrations. Thanks for your interesting commentary and of course, your creativity! I always look forward to your posts…Happy Monday!
Brilliantly executed table with such fine details, both visual and informational! That flatware is especially handsome!
Blue and White done beautifully with the wonderful fruit and flower garland! The food, oh my, looks delicious.
What a fun, vibrant table, Mary, to celebrate the Chinese New Year! Thank you for all the information that you shared, and the recipes. The sparklers add such a happy whimsical addition to your already beautiful table. Aren’t fortune cookies fun? I must remember to pick up some! Thanks for your inspiration, as always.
Am going to use some of your ideas in my nieces wedding, good fortune coins, sparkles to send them off, and orange curd as the filling in the cake along with small oranges tucked in between the layers of the cake along with ivy. Thank you. I always look forward to your post. You are unlimited with your ideas.
How fun! Such a pretty table. I should have a wonderful year as I love fish, oranges, tangerines and plums, and narcissus are my favorite spring flower! (Lol). It WILL be a good year! :)
The pop of orange color the citrus fruits provide against the blue & white is gorgeous!
Girl, you are one talented, creative woman! You never cease to amaze (and delight) me. This is fabulous. You sure did your homework. LOVE the dishes!!!!
You see…I luv the rooster referene since my mom worked in an “egg farm/factory” forty plus years ..my murano glass rooster sparkles at me every day and the most wonderful reminder of my mom. franki
Mary, this is brilliant! The RL dishes are gorgeous and your centerpiece is very creative with the mix of fruit, flowers, bulbs, coins, and candles. The sparkler shot is incredible. I marvel at your photography!
I’ve intended to post for the Chinese New Year as I usually do, but haven’t had the time to pull it together just yet. Lord knows I have plenty of roosters here, so that’s not an excuse. Maybe I’ll get my act together before the holiday ends. ‘-) You are inspiring!
What fun Mary, I feel very lucky indeed to see this Chinese New Year celebration! Love the rooster surrounded by the bounty of lucky produce, fortune cookies and orchids. Nothing says happy New Year better than sparklers! Your new RL dishware is gorgeous!
Oh this table has to be one of my favorites!….I love everything about it and love how you are always so informative about the subject matter of the table. The Long Life Noodle Soup has always been a tradition in my family every New Year’s Day….along with black eyed peas and collard greens…..as my mom is Japanese and her tradition was the Long Life Noodle Soup and then my dad loving his American tradition of the Black Eyed Peas…etc. I need to see if I can find that gorgeous tablecloth to go with my RL Mandarin dishes.
The colors and textures on this table make it one of my favorites. As always, I am in awe of your continuing creativity.
I learned so much Mary, and in such a beautiful way! Thank you!
Beautiful! In past years I’ve enjoyed celebration dinners for Chinese New Year…can’t seem to get myself motivated this year…so am enjoying yours vicariously!
Very pretty Mary-Happy New Year! Gotta get me some oranges:@)
Mary, I love everything about this beautiful and bright table, from the gorgeous blue and white dishes to the king of the barnyard himself! The centerpiece is so conveniently yummy for a quick dessert and that shrimp stir fry dish is making me drool! The sparklers certainly would add a bit of excitement to the dinner! I set our table with my Queens Rooster plates and a tin rooster and was quite happy with it until I saw your enticing setting. And your photography is amazing! I did not know about the significance of the orchids but I did make sure we didn’t cut any noodles at our dinner! :) I’m a Libra Monkey, and I do think that describes me very well. Happy Chinese New Year and may all those fortunes come true for you! Linda
Just beautiful (as usual). I just posted a photo on Instagram and tried to give you credit for the boot inspiration. I don’t know how to make it show up so that it goes to your site. You truly are an inspiration.
The orchids are beautiful Mary and the food looks great. I have always loved Chinese blue and white pottery. Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Hi, Mary,
This tablescape is stunning! I love the combination of Ralph Lauren patterns. Do you happen to know the name of the RL tablecloth pattern? Is it by any chance Laveen or Veranda?
Thank you!
Maureen
Thanks Maureen! The tag is long gone but appears to be Laveen :)