Chinese
New Year in Singapore
by Ieuan Dolby
With Chinese New Year just around the corner the
MRT (Mass Rapid Transit System) in Singapore is bursting at the seams
(more so than usual) as the millions traipse around the city to spend
the contents of the red envelopes that they have just received or to
stock up on goodies that are being sold like they are going out of
fashion.
Not only are the Chinese, the Vietnamese and those
who celebrate the Lunar year out in the rush but every other man jack
and his dog is out to take part in the festive occasion that has taken
over the Island city. This is not a time for the lighthearted to be out
and about for a stroll nor is it a time to be shopping for household
essentials; the city is one mad rush of people intent and happy in the
celebrations underway.
Stalls rise everywhere along street sides and
outside otherwise quite shops and all sell the all-important cookies
that are a must for the sittings rooms of every household.
What is Chinese New Year? Chinese New Year starts
with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full
moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern
Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and
children carrying lanterns in a parade.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of
lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order
to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month
once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the
same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the
solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each
year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated
as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration
was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor
of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors
The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of
all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed
away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they
were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory
of the family.
The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on
New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet
table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living,
celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The
communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes
family unity and honors the past and present generations.
To actually eat one of the cookies that are on
sale cheaply (one large dinner sized containers for 3 SGD or one UK
pound) at the market stalls and extortionately at some shopping malls
and up market shops (2 SGD or 80 UK pence would hardly pay for a lone
cookie never mind the tray) does not embody the fanfare that surrounds
them. The candy that is bought regardless of the cost is always
presented in a circular tray – this symbolizes togetherness amongst
those who eat, whilst the candy itself signifies ‘sweetness’ which is
how the rest of the year should go.
The main theme that runs through the New Year,
this being the greatest and most festive occasion of the year, is
similar to the western theme of starting afresh. Contrary though to
many a westerners habits of getting totally drunk, wandering aimlessly
around the streets in search of a partner to slobber a kiss on, the
Chinese take it far more seriously.
The principles behind the New Year The main theme
that runs through this period is of starting afresh, of cleansing and
sweeping away old feelings and enmities, making new friends and
basically getting rid of the old year and starting a new one that will
be brimming with good fortune and prosperity.
To prepare for this new-year houses and cars must
be cleaned out thoroughly, debts must be paid up and apologies made
where they are due. It is a time to thank colleagues and workers for
the hard work they have done in the past year, it is a time to
strengthen friendships and a time to forget old grudges and to create a
sense of well-being for all those around.
To be involved in the preparations for New Year is
to be more active than visiting the local off-license for a crate of
beer and bottle of spirits or two. Preparations involve the full
cleaning of the house from the top to the bottom. Dust is swept away as
are the bits of bad luck that have amassed over the last year. Food
must be bought and made and this involves days if not weeks of
preparations. Debts and grudges must be paid off and if this involves
working harder than so bit it. Should anyone by chance want money back
then this is the time to make some subtle hints, as if the debtor has
no urge to payback, their feelings of immanent bad luck for the next
year will certainly help them to reconsider.
It is also important to make sure that every
window in the house is easy to operate, not stiff on the sashes or
seized with paint and dirt of a years closure. At midnight of New Years
Day these windows must all be opened – to let the old year out and the
New Year in.
Apart from this harried clean-up of the past year
red envelopes must be prepared and this in itself is no easy task.
The Red Envelope and how much to put inside! Red
Packet (Red Envelope) is simply a red envelope with money in it, often
decorated with lucky symbols, which promote luck and wealth. This is
called “Hong Bao” in Chinese.
The giving of these envelopes is perhaps the most
important of all duties during the festive period. The giving of the
envelope signifies good luck, wealth and prosperity more than any other
offering. Envelopes are given by family members to parents, by older
children to younger and more recently by bosses as a year end bonus or
gift for the hard work they have done over the last year. Husbands give
to wives and friends give to friends, Aunties give to Nieces and
Grandfathers give to all.
How much is given depends upon the financial
status of the givers and the receivers. If the receiver is wealthy or
at least self-sustained then the amount is only of token value and more
in-line with the good luck that it carries. Bosses tend to give a
rather more substantial amount in the range of a months pay, but again
this may depend on the success of the business of the last preceding
year. Those who are the richer in a family tend to give more than the
poorer and brothers tend to give more to sisters than the other way
around. Always and without fail the mother will receive a large sum due
to the position that she holds and to say the needed thankyou’s for the
hard work that she has put into her family over the last year –
deserved or not.
The giving of two Lee See’s (Red Envelopes) to a
child can be extra lucky because happiness comes in two’s. This is a
way of passing good luck to the next generation. Business owners might
also give two Lee See’s to employees and associates.
To get hold of an actual Red Envelope is easy in
itself as these are given freely around the city by companies using the
envelopes for advertising their products. The money may not be so easy
and depends not only on the long queues that suddenly appear at all
banks but on the availability of new money when the teller is reached.
In addition to the giving of the red envelopes the notes must be brand
new to signify “Newness”, if the notes are old it is a sign of bad luck
carrying over from the previous year.
Luck is perhaps the overriding theme behind the
whole occasion and actions of individuals during the days leading up to
the New Year and the days following play a part in how the rest of the
year will follow. Nothing as simple as the breaking of a mirror
bringing seven years of bad luck or throwing salt of the shoulder plays
apart here, tradition and the ‘does’ and ‘don’ts’ extend far and wide
and into every movement and action of each and every participant.
The Luck or Not of New Year! Homes, offices and
shops must be decorated with symbols of good fortune in colors of
bright red (happiness) gold/orange (wealth and happiness). Foods to be
bought are: Oranges and tangerines that symbolize good health and long
life, tangerines with the leaves still attached symbolizing
long-lasting friendships and fruitful (as in lots of children) and
persimmons that signify happiness and wealth, the circular candy trays
as mentioned previously along with many a sweet food item to symbolize
sweetness.
Loads of flowers must be displayed, hopefully ones
that will bloom on New Years Day as this will signify a prosperous
year.
Red banners or couplets with New Year wishes and
symbols of good fortune in gold must be displayed everywhere.
The wearing of brand new clothes is important -
preferably in red. Children should wear new clothes and new shoes.
Don’t wash your hair. Don’t sweep the floor. Don’t greet people who are
in mourning. Don’t drop your chopsticks. Don’t say the number ‘four’
(Chinese homonym for death) or mention death. Don’t borrow or lend
money.
There is allot to do and allot to remember during
these times but it is an occasion that brings people together and when
families re-unite. As in the western world, amongst those who are not
suffering from massive hangovers or still asleep on the floor of some
unknown party host, resolutions are made that may pan out through will
power and dedication. Self analysis is made that may push oneself to
achieve more or to try harder in the coming year and it is a time for
self reflection. It is also a time for party and fun and for eating
masses of food and the Chinese by no-means forget this latter one.
Food of the New Year The Chinese will expect their
children to eat as many cookies, oranges and orange-inspired dishes as
they can stomach, to get their bodies prepared for the sweetness that
the New Year will bring!
Other dishes of the day and occasion will have
symbolic meanings to good luck and fortune. Red meat will not be seen
this year as memories of mad cow disease still hang around. The chicken
dishes will also be less in number this year due to the Asian Chicken
Flu Virus that has scared the world. The fish will once again have
pride and place amongst the meat dishes on every table. The fish
symbolizes long life and prosperity and must be presented whole to
represent completeness.
Noodles as per usual will be the substance of the
meal and will be served whole and uncut to symbolize longevity.
Lotus seed signifies having many male offspring,
the Ginkgo nut - represents silver ingots and Black moss seaweed is a
homonym for exceeding in wealth. Dried bean curd is another homonym for
fulfillment of wealth and happiness and Bamboo shoots is a term that
sounds like "wishing that everything would be well".
Turnips are cooked, because their name "cai tou"
also means "good luck" in some dialects. The freshwater fish carp is
often served, because its name "li," also means "profit."
Finally, another popular Chinese dish is a side of
dumplings or pot stickers, which the Chinese call "jiaozi." Dumplings
are made not because they are a homonym but because they look similar
to ancient Chinese money. In some regions of China, the chef of the
house will secretly place a coin in the center of one jiaozi, and so
the lucky person who bites into it and finds the coin is guaranteed an
especially prosperous year to come!
Certainly when preparing the meals for the
occasion or buying food at the markets most things will be okay, but it
is wise to miss out certain items. Fresh bean curd or tofu as it is
usually known is not a suitable purchase for the occasion even thought
it is typically eaten every day. As this product is white it is thus
deemed unlucky for New Year as the color signifies death and
misfortune. It is these small items that play a critical role and none
more so than the number four that sounds like the word “death”. At no
point must cash gifts with the number four be given out otherwise the
receiver will have bad luck. Food presented on tables must be in
groupings of three or five or more and chairs at a table must not be of
four in quantity. This attention to detail will play-out how feelings
and the luck for the New Year will result.
Over-all and if in doubt greet others with "Gung
Hey Fat Choy" which means "Wishing You Prosperity and Wealth" and rely
on a foreigners ignorance to carry the days forwards.
Author and Webmaster of Seamania. A Chief Engineer in the
Merchant Navy having sailed the world for twenty years. Living in
Taiwan and between trips to sea he writes about cultures across the
globe and life as he sees it, mostly with a smile!
Ieuan Dolby may be contacted at http://www.seadolby.com
or seamania@seadolby.com
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