Why eat gua bao and spring rolls at year-end banquets, and does a chicken's head point to whoever will be fired?

Eating gua bao and spring rolls at the year-end banquet is mainly a traditional way to thank the deities, acknowledge a year's hard work, and express auspicious wishes. Eating them does not guarantee wealth.

As I have explained, a gua bao stuffed with filling resembles a purse full of money, while a rolled spring roll brings to mind rolled banknotes of earlier times. These auspicious explanations draw on appearance and word associations. Meat was more precious in the past, so people offered good food in worship and shared it afterward. Later, the meal also came to mean an employer thanking employees for their year's efforts.

The idea that the chicken's head points to whoever will be dismissed is an older saying. I have also said it is heard less often now. Some companies simply omit the head to prevent needless worry. A dish's placement, or whether you were invited, cannot directly establish that you will definitely lose your job.

Some companies hold only a year-end banquet, while others switch to a spring banquet after work resumes. Customs differ with organizational culture and practice. I think traditions can adapt with the times. First understanding why something is done and then considering present arrangements makes its intention easier to appreciate than treating every old form as unchangeable.