Luck and prosperity are woven into every facet of the Chinese New Year celebration, a marking of time on the lunar calendar when friends and family draw near to share traditional dishes and a positive attitude for the year ahead. Annie Yu, San Luis Obispo cooking class instructor @sloasiancooking, enjoys introducing to friends the red envelopes of cash, customary red clothing and symbolic foods enjoyed during New Year celebrations. “I’m making a whole chicken,” shares Annie. “The reason we use it is the Chinese word for good luck and prosperity is “guy” and that sounds like the word for chicken, so it’s a homonym.” Here, the chicken is eaten whole with the head and feet attached. Dumplings symbolize the old money of gold ingots, representing wealth and, according to Annie, there’s always some kind of noodle dish. “I’m making mung bean noodles. It’s important not to cut it because noodles represent long life. I’m also making almond cookies because it looks like gold coins — [a] symbol of wealth.”