The Spring Festival is associated with many customs observed by people in Taiwan. Among the major activities, sharing a meal is perhaps the most significant ritual that has both symbolic and instrumental meaning.
Especially notable for collective preparation and consumption are wheat flour dumplings filled with chopped cabbage, leeks, pork, shrimp, or other ingredients and popularly eaten with a vinegar, soy sauce or chili dip. Shaped like plump crescents or ingots, an old form of Chinese currency, the thin-skinned dumplings represent wealth and the reunion of family.
Other traditional items on the menu include various types of sticky rice cakes, small glutinous rice balls filled with something sweet like red bean paste, and steamed breads. Like the savory dumplings, this special fare is also imbued with auspicious meaning and conveys high hopes for the coming lunar year.
Dumplings are not only a symbol of luck and fortune, they are also a marker of new beginnings. Because of this, they assume a prominent role in celebrating the passage of the years.