Food and folk customs.
Eating dumplings is popular in northern areas. Generally, dumplings are eaten with meat fillings on New Year’s Eve and vegetarian fillings on New Year’s Day. New Year's dumplings should have thin skins and lots of stuffing, and should be tightly kneaded and not overcooked. Meat dumplings should include pork, mutton, beef, and chicken. There are also mandarin duck dumplings with two types of meat mixed together, and "dumpling feasts" with a variety of flavors. . Vegetarian dumplings mostly use a variety of fresh vegetables. There are many forms of dumplings, including crown dumplings, butterfly dumplings, goldfish dumplings, lace dumplings, crescent dumplings that are pushed, stacked, twisted, flower-shaped, and squeezed wooden fish dumplings.