Chinese New Year Delicacies: "Tikoy" and "Hopia"

Thanks to the Chinese for the Lunar New Year celebrations that gave way to a long weekend and for the countless delicacies related to the festivities. Two of those are tikoy and hopia, although the latter is more popular among Filipinos during the rest of the year.

Tikoy is a sweet round cake made from glutinous rice. Eating tikoy during the celebrations is considered lucky. The cake can be readily eaten, but many people dip sliced tikoy in beaten eggs and then fry it before serving. Refrigeration is preferable deter ants from partaking of this sweet delicacy.

Plain tikoy is white in color, but it also comes in a wide variety of flavors including buko pandan, strawberry and ube. A variant of this delicacy is the tikoy roll. This pastry has a chewy outside layer with many kinds of filling to choose from.

The packaging for tikoy has also become more sophisticated. As can be seen above, the Ka-Ho brand has a pair of dragons and Chinese characters that presumably mean good fortune. The purple box for the Sweet Cake brand conforms to the purple yam flavor of its content.    

Hopia is originally a bean-filled pastry that might be circular or cubic in shape. Through the years, pastry makers have used other fillings including winter melon paste and ube (purple yam). The successful business of Chinese deli Eng Bee Tin is attributed to its introduction of the ube hopia.

Chinese New Year Celebrations: Dragon Dance

Chinese New Year celebrations often include the performance of the dragon dance because dragons are believed to bring good luck to people. The dance is performed by a group of skilled people who manipulate poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of a long flexible figure of a dragon. The dragon figure comprises a series of hoops that is covered with fabric. The ornamental head and tail pieces are then attached at the ends.

The dragon represents the river spirit, so the dance is conducted in a flow-like manner. A successful dance can be achieved depending on the correctness and accuracy of the different parts of the dragon figure. The motion of the head of the figure should be  be able to conform with the the body in synch with the beats of the drum. Sounds produced by the clashing of a pair of cymbals also accompany the dance.

Horse Decorations for the Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is an important traditional holiday that is also celebrated in the Philippines because of the presence of significant Chinese population in this country. Based on the  12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac, the new year which will begin on January 31, 2014 and end on February 18, 2015. It will correspond to the "Horse" that bears the elemental sign of "Wood."

It has been mentioned that the Philippines has a significant Chinese population. As a result, customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese New Year have also been adopted by many Filipinos.

One such custom is decorating homes with lucky charms that is related to the animal sign of the new year. Shown are some horse-themed lucky charms that can be seen in Filipino homes during the celebrations.

It can be noticed that all three decorations have horse figures in conformance with the animal symbol of the year. The tassels are red as the color, in Chinese culture, corresponds with fire and denotes good fortune and happiness. It can be presumed that the golden color is for wealth.

The decoration at left features Budai, who is regarded as a representation of contentment. The one at the middle has a pineapple and coins, both of which denote wealth. The horse at right is accompanied by lanterns, which to some Chinese, symbolize new beginnings.