Giving fruit has a deeper meaning during the Lunar New Year

Food shopping for the Lunar New Year is always an adventure. I recall navigating the crowded supermarkets in Toronto’s Chinatown for fruit with my mom when I was younger.

“Pick the ones with the nicest green leaves,” she would instruct me as we sorted through the mounds of clementines at the store. Dad would later explain to me how the clementine’s leaves are symbols of life and are commonly displayed in homes for good luck. They are also a traditional gift for family and friends.

“Fruits play a very important role at Lunar New Year for my family,” said Toronto-based artist Jonathan Pong when I spoke to him about this annual ritual. “My parents thought it was important to pass down cultural traditions to their kids. When I received lucky red pockets from them, they always came with an orange and an apple.”

The custom of gifting fruits to mark the Lunar New Year has been around for centuries in parts of Asia. Years ago, rural villages would have limited access to fresh fruit during the winter months, so gifting an apple or pomelo, for example, was appreciated and seen as a loving gesture.

The day after Lunar New Year is traditionally know for fruit gifting. It is the day when you visit the homes of family and friends and are presented with fruit as a symbol wishing you health and prosperity over the next 12 months.

In parts of China, oranges — including tangerines, mandarins, clementines and orange-like kumquats — are traditionally given to bestow happiness, prosperity and good health in the year ahead. These fruits are favoured for their roundness, which symbolizes togetherness. If you want to bring good fortune and luck into the home, then a kumquat tree is what you give. In Cantonese, a tangerine is called a “gum” which sounds like the word for “gold,” so it also symbolizes prosperity.

Another auspicious fruit to gift during the Lunar New Year are pomelos — a large citrus fruit — that represents family unity. To enjoy them, though, requires a bit of work. My mom taught me how to peel back the thick, fragrant rind and separate the wedges before removing the dry skin to reveal the sweet fruit inside. The name of the fruit in Cantonese is pronounced like the word “have,” and giving a pomelo is interpreted as wishing for the recipient to always have more than they need in life.

Apples are another popular gift. While red apples represent prosperity and abundance, green ones symbolize money – and a wish for the recipient to prosper in the year ahead. The Cantonese word for “apple” is pronounced like the word for “peace,” so consuming one is also said to bring calm and security into one’s life.

It is no surprise then that the three largest supermarkets in Toronto’s Chinatown — Kai Wei, Lucky Moose and Hua Sheng — report an increase in the sales of apples in the weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year.

Today, we have more options for modern-day gifting. Walk into a T&T Supermarket in Toronto and you will be greeted with a variety of premium fruit from around the world. Coveted Japanese Crown Melons, Korean Shine Muscats and Korean Asian Pears are next-level gifts often presented in exquisite packaging. Cherries, too, have become quite popular for their rich dark red colour believed to represent happiness and love with great blessings.

Some of these fruits also come with conversation-worthy price tags that reflect the nurtured vines or branches on which they ripened. For example, a single Japanese Crown Melons from Shizuoka, Japan, can coast more than $80.

The Envy Apple is a much sought-after premium gift these days. Created in New Zealand in 2008, the fruit is touted as the ultimate apple, offering a crisp crunch and uplifting sweet scent. It is also slow to oxidize naturally, so it won’t turn brown right away after your cut or bite into it.

You can buy those apples packaged in special gift boxes, but my local T&T Supermarket was sold out when I went. Luckily, I found a bin of loose, unpackaged Envy Apples I was able to buy for an upcoming family dinner.