Dose #42 – Longan and Red Date
Today, we look into Longan and Red Date Tea – a naturally sweet tea served during Chinese New Year…
We continue with All I Need To Know About CNY
I Learned from a Transit Ad
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Dose #42: Longan and Red Date
Spotted at: YEO’s Transit Ads, MRT stations across Singapore
What I Learned About CNY: “Longan and red date tea is one of the commonly served tea during Chinese New Year. Longan symbolises vigor and good health like the dragon. Red Date represents good fortune and sweetness of blessings for the entire year because of its auspicious colour .” -YEO’s poster
Let’s get to know these fruits: Longan and Red Date
Longan Fruit
Image via alnadifoods
“The longan (Chinese: 龙眼; pinyin: lóng yǎn; literally: “Dragon Eye”), is so named because it resembles an eyeball when its fruit is shelled (the black seed shows through the translucent flesh like a pupil/iris). The seed is small, round and hard, and of an enamel-like, lacquered black.”
Read more on Wikipedia
Red Dates
Image via kaleidoscope.cultural-china
“Just as Brazil’s mysterious acai berries once were to Western health fanatics (remember when they could cure cancer?), so are jujubes to China. Known as red dates, or hongzao (红枣) in Chinese, the native southeast asian fruit has long been heralded as a superfood…”
Read more on The World of Chinese
Longan and Red Date Symbolism
-symbol of fertility
And so it is typically part of Chinese weddings…
“People usually put red dates and Longans on the newlyweds’ bed for the reason that the “date” in Chinese Pinyin is “zao”, which is the homophony of “early”, and “Longan” is “gui”, the homophony of “valuable”. When put together, the two kinds of food will imply the meaning of “bearing a valuable son early”, which expresses people’s wish for a child. “ Read more on cultural-china
“In traditional Chinese weddings there is a tea ceremony , the tea is made of longans ad red dates to symbolize a good wish to bear a male child to the married couple. “ Read more on chinese-symbols
Instant Longan Red Date Tea
Image from alibaba
Here are a few instant brands: Gold Kili, Tengyuan, Red Flag Super
For the Chinese New Year…
I can understand why Chinese people would include Longan and Red Date Tea in the CNY celebrations, it’s for wishing the whole family a fertile year – abundant and prosperous!
Check out the following Tea Recipes:
Red Date & Longan Tea
Check out Chef Gina’s recipe on Kitchen Capers
Longan and Red Date Tea on 65 Doctor Singapore
Goji Berries, Red Dates and Longan Tea on divineglowinghealth
Chinese jujube and goji tea (红枣茶)(and longan) on taiwanxifu
So do… remember to make time to enjoy a nice cup of tea surrounded by the warm love of family during CNY and throughout the year!
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