Every year, after the Jan 1 New Year’s day, or shortly there after, Mandarin Oranges or Tangerines start appearing in stores, especially around places where Chinese ethnic communities live any where around the world. It’s a sign that Spring New Year Festival (春节) is coming.
Most of us have probably seen places piling up with Mandarins, but may not have known some of the cultural reasons behind the Mandarin oranges.
Mandarin oranges are symbols of prosperity and good luck in Chinese ethnic culture, in a few ways. The color of red/orange/yellow is a symbol of prosperity and good luck, hence around Chinese New Year, every Chinatown turns red. The word for Tangerine in Chinese is 柑 (Gan) and in some dialects is very closely pronounced as the word Gold (Kam in Cantonese).
And the peeling of the fruit to reveal a sweet tasting inside is like a reward for some effort and being rewarded with a sweet life.
Mandarin oranges are almost mandatory visiting gifts during the Spring Festival when visiting friends and relatives because it’s like wishing your loved ones and friends good luck for the coming year. It’s relatively inexpensive, and hence, can be practised by people of most levels of wealth.
[Picture above] A Mandarin is very similar to a standard orange except the skin is thinner and easier to peel, and the taste is a little different, more watery, and more sweet. Mandarin peels are dried and used in many Chinese medicine as well as flavoring for many Chinese dishes.
[Picture above] The Mandarin orange fruit is a lot more watery compared to normal oranges. Both are of course equally delicious and good for a balanced diet.
If not already, head over to any Chinatowns near you, and pick up a few Mandarins. Try them out, and share your thoughts if it’s your first time trying it.
We are all looking forward to the coming of spring… 新年快到了
