HEALTHY AND HAPPY WAYS TO CELEBRATE CHINESE NEW YEAR 

Written by John Jundante on 31 January 2021

With the upcoming celebration of the biggest and most significant festival in China, people in Bangkok are surely looking for fun activities and sumptuous feasts to welcome and celebrate the Chinese New Year. As the year of the tiger kicks off on the 1st of February, PULSE has created some tips on how to spend your Chinese New Year occasion happily and healthily. 

1. Shop Healthier Ingredients and Practice Moderation 

Maintaining a good shape or diet during this festive season could be a little challenging for some people especially since most traditional Lunar New Year goods are of low nutritional value and made with lots of sugar and fats. However, this can be managed through shopping for healthier goods and ingredients for your new year’s meal as well as practicing moderation of food consumption. Moderating food intake helps you keep your body in good shape as well as strengthens self-discipline. Monitoring your sugar intake can keep your body away from unwanted health conditions. Eating natural mandarin oranges instead of snacking on pineapple tarts can help you maintain a normal sugar level and significantly help you to avoid other health risks. Purchase ingredients with low salt and fat contents, sugar-free, or reduced sugar beverages instead of resorting to the usual fatty, salty, and high sugar goodies. Regularly eating healthy foods and responsibly monitoring your consumption can bring positive effects on our bodies. 

2. Prepare a Healthy Menu  

One of the most important traditions during Chinese New Year is the reunion dinner. Members of the family gather together in celebration of the new year coming and the ending of a lunar calendar year. This is also a perfect opportunity to create a perfectly healthy menu for your family to delight in. You might want to consider putting these options on your food list: 

• Vegetable Dishes – there are multiple dishes you can make with green, leafy vegetables. It provides more nutrients to the dish that has plenty of good benefits for you and your family. Using colorful vegetables is also recommended for additional festivity feels  
• Fish – aside from being a symbol of abundance, fish dishes are good for the heart. It also helps with good brain function 
• Go for Healthier Cooking Methods – boiling, grilling, stir-frying, or steaming are cooking methods that use less oil which can be good for the body  
• Fruits – Mandarin oranges symbolize positivity for Chinese New Year as well as provides benefits to the body through the citrus 

3. Rejuvenate Your Senses with Traditional Chinese Medicine 

Leave your stress and worries from last year and take the chance to rejuvenate your senses with traditional Chinese treatments like acupuncture. Mostly used for overall well-being and stress management, a session of revitalizing acupuncture can help develop a brand-new perspective as a new year commences. This is a good opportunity to improve your immune system and enhance your mental clarity.  

4. Visit Art Galleries 

Visiting art galleries or museums at the beginning of the year offers soothing and relaxing benefits for your mind as you prepare to face another calendar year. Art improves our critical thinking skills and improves our brain function to think creatively. It keeps our minds stronger and gives us more confidence to engage, analyze, and understand other people. Art inspires our minds to think critically and creatively. PULSE Gallery is one of the best galleries in Bangkok that offers free exhibits and displays for the public.  

5. Surround Yourself with Good People 

Your environment affects your mood and stability more than you know. Surrounding yourself with good people can hugely impact your outlook and perspective in life. In this new year, avoid and remove all the negative energies around you to harness the best, positive energies that will boost your good fortune, abundance, and auspicious success.