New Year's Eve and the first three days of the new year are observed as a public holiday, although this break sometimes lasts up to a week. Even though people return to work, the holiday atmosphere lasts through the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. During the time period before the New Year, people acquire and prepare the necessary food and new clothing to wear. Food has a major prominence in all Chinese festivals, and New Year is no exception. This is the time for purchasing and eating huge quantities of dried meats and fruits, special sausages, sweet and salty cakes, and numerous other delectables.
Many foods have symbolic value.
The Chinese word for fish rhymes with their word for surplus. By eating half of a fish on New Year's Eve and saving the remainder for the next day, families can transfer their surplus luck to the New Year. There is also a vegetarian dish with a special seaweed called fatchoi, which sounds the same as the word meaning prosperity. Families are supposed to clean out their houses, wash all household utensils, and discard unwanted items. People also make symbolic sacrifices in honor of the Earth God.