Question

Chang is celebrating the Chinese New Year along with his friends at a restaurant. Match each of these food items with the cultural and religious meaning that Chang would attach to them.

Long noodles
Rice cakes
Dumplings
Represents wealth

Answer 1

In Chinese New Year celebrations, long noodles symbolize longevity, rice cakes represent growth and progress, and dumplings signify wealth and prosperity.

Step-by-step explanation:

During the Chinese New Year, food plays a significant role by embodying cultural and religious meanings. Items like long noodles are often associated with longevity and life, symbolizing the eater's wish for a long and healthy life. Rice cakes, which are known as nian gao, symbolize growth, progress, and the promise of a better year, as 'nian' means 'year' and 'gao' suggests 'tall' or 'high.' Dumplings are shaped like ancient Chinese gold ingots, thus they represent wealth and prosperity for the upcoming year. Each food item carries its own special meaning and is a key part of the celebrations, contributing to the cultural richness of the festivities.