Twenty messages for the reunion dinner, the red envelopes and the good wishes of Lunar New Year.
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An honest note: fortune cookies are not a Chinese tradition; they were born in the United States (read their history). Still, many people use them to celebrate Lunar New Year, and these lines borrow its familiar gestures: the big table, the clean house, the red envelopes and the good wishes.
Lunar New Year fortune cookie sayings
May the new year arrive with a full table and a light heart.
Open the door to the new year: it brings good news and wants dinner with you.
Red envelopes, laughter at the table and troubles left outside.
Sweep out the old, open the windows and let the good in.
The reunion dinner is the best gift of the year: may nobody be missing.
Lanterns glow to remind you that light is meant to be shared.
May every dumpling on the table bring you a joy.
A new year is a blank page. Write neatly, and with humor.
May prosperity knock at your door and find dinner served.
What you do with love this month multiplies for the rest of the year.
Wish health for those you love; everything else follows.
Firecrackers scare off bad moods. Today, may none remain.
Greet your elders first: that is where good luck begins.
May the year surprise you more often than you prepare for.
One family, one big table and no hurry: that is prosperity.
Change your scenery, not your friends. The year will thank you.
The first wish of the year is for whoever sits beside you.
A different year has arrived: try everything, even what you can't pronounce.
Good luck is cooked too: with patience and over a low flame.
Happy Lunar New Year. May you have plenty of all the good things.
How to use them respectfully
At dinner: one cookie per guest; each person reads their wish aloud.
With family: if elders are at the table, greet them first and hand out the rest after.
No costumes: celebrate the gestures (the table, the good wishes), not caricatures.
If you want to make your own cookies for the occasion, here is the step-by-step recipe.
Sayings by topic
Questions about Lunar New Year
Are fortune cookies eaten at Chinese New Year?
Not in China, where they aren't traditional. They are a North American invention that many people outside China use to mark the date.
What date is Lunar New Year?
It changes every year, between late January and mid-February, following the lunisolar calendar. Check the date before planning dinner.
Which sayings should I avoid?
Any that mock accents or customs. These stay with wishes and the shared table.
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