All around the world, people drink tea. But tea does not mean the same thing to everyone. In different countries people have very different ideas about drinking tea.

In China, for example, tea is always served(提供) when people get together. The Chinese drink it at any time of the day at homes or in teahouses. They prefer(更喜欢) green tea, with nothing else in it.

Tea is also important in Japan. The Japanese have a special way of serving tea called a tea ceremony(仪式). It is very old and full of meaning. People must do everything in a special way in the ceremony. There is even a special room for it in Japanese homes.

Another tea-drinking country is England. In England, the late afternoon is “teatime”. Almost (几乎) everyone has a cup of tea then. The English usually make tea in a teapot and drink it with milk and sugar. They also eat cakes, cookies and little sandwiches at teatime.

In the United States people drink tea mostly for breakfast or after meals. Americans usually use tea bags to make their tea. Tea bags are faster and easier(更快捷更容易) than making tea in teapots. In summer, many Americans drink cold tea—“iced tea”. Sometimes they drink iced tea from cans, like soda.

Jiaozi, also known as Chinese dumplings, is a must-have during holidays in Northern China. It dates back to ancient times.

Jiaozi is one of the most important foods in Chinese New Year. Since jiaozi is in the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots (银锭), it symbolizes wealth (象征着财富).

Traditionally, the members of a family get together to make dumplings on New Year’s Eve. They may hide a coin in one of the dumplings. The person who finds the coin will be likely to have good luck. As the Spring Festival marks the start of a new year, people choose to eat jiaozi in the hope of having a good future in the coming new year.

Based on your taste, you can make different kinds of Chinese dumplings using different fillings. There is no set rule as to what makes dumpling fillings. They can be anything from vegetables, meat or seafood. Whatever the fillings are, the wrapping (包) skill needs to be exquisite (精美的) to make jiaozi good-looking.

As China is a country with a vast territory (幅员辽阔), there are differences in different areas in ways of making jiaozi or even serving it. For example, dumpling wrappers are made with a rolling stick in Beijing and Hebei province, while in some parts of Inner Mongolia, wrappers are hand-pressed.