Chinese New Year
February 17 marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, for 2026. It is a momentous time in China and beyond, with Chinese diasporas reaching across the globe. In fact, one quarter of the world's population celebrates the Chinese New Year as a primary holiday, and the rest of us can enjoy it in ways large and small. Many neighborhood Asian markets have foods and decorations that you can purchase to bring the spirit of the Lunar New Year into your home.
The first fifteen days of the Chinese New Year are also called the Spring Festival, a time for great celebration and rituals, many of which involve oranges, mandarins such as tangerines, and other types of citrus. The Chinese word for orange, chengzi or 橙子, sounds very similar to the Chinese word for gold, jinzi or 金子. As such, oranges and other citrus fruits have become symbols of prosperity and good fortune in the New Year. Even if you don't have other Chinese New Year decorations or dishes, you can still enjoy some orange-centric traditions.
Rolling Oranges
Also known as "rolling in the gold," one way to bring prosperity, good fortune, and success into your home is to use a feng shui ritual of rolling nine oranges and tangerines through your front door threshold from the outside of your home. Feng shui is the Chinese art of using objects and belongings in the home in harmonious ways, as a means to optimize the qi or good vibrations in one's life. The front door is known as energy center or energy mouth of your living space, taking in the symbolism of the oranges as a way to secure and enrich your home for the year ahead. Nine is the number for good luck. By rolling nine oranges into the home versus out the door, the energy of abundance and good fortune are encouraged to "make themselves at home" in your life.
Prosperity Bowl
In addition to rolling oranges into the home, another tradition of the Chinese New Year is to place a bowl of money--usually folded into bright red and gold envelopes--and citrus on a well-lit, prominent place in the home such as a dining table or living room credenza. Not only do the citrus fruits represent the gold of riches, but they are also meant to nourish the steady flow of prosperity for the entire year. Continue to eat the citrus and replace it with fresh fruits each week.
Year of the Fire Horse: Seeing Red
Each year of the Chinese New Year is represented by a different animal in a repeating twelve-year cycle that goes back some 3,500 years. These animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake. Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Additionally, each animal is paired with the five elements: earth, water, fire, metal, and wood. Therefore, every sixty years, we see a specific pairing of an animal and an element repeat itself. This year is the Year of the Fire Horse. It is represented by the power and force of the color red. Red is already a traditional color for the Chinese New Year, as it is also a symbol of good luck. As such, this year it is especially meaningful to optimize it. One way we can do this is by honing in on red-fleshed citrus fruits such as red grapefruits and cara cara red navel oranges.
The Year of the Fire Horse is considered a potent one, filled with excitement, uncertainty, and pivotal shifts. All the more reason to keep a steady diet of citrus fruits to keep you energized, nourished, and hydrated so you can enjoy the wild ride.
From all of us here at Florida Fruit Shippers: Happy Chinese New Year!
https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/events/celebrations/lunar-new-year-celebration/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2025/12/30/heres-the-date-for-chinese-new-year-2026---and-what-animal-you-are/
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/feng-shui/
https://www.homesandgardens.com/solved/rolling-oranges-ritual
https://medium.com/@mariacorreaflynn/symbolism-of-the-number-9-f42b48dd5b64
https://www.homesandgardens.com/solved/feng-shui-prosperity-bowl
https://www.homesandgardens.com/news/lunar-new-year-decorating-with-red
https://www.history.com/articles/red-envelopes-chinese-new-year
https://www.history.com/articles/chinese-zodiac-signs-animals-history
