CHINESE NEW YEAR
Be greeted by throngs of Singaporeans, stalls selling an assortment of wax ducks, pomelos, kumquats, 'lucky plants', Taiwanese sausages, pussy willows, and loud remixed versions of traditional songs blasting through speakers. All these can only mean one thing…
It's that time of the year again, and most Singaporean Chinese have been training extensively for the past months for this. From fine tuning their bargaining skills to learning how to squeeze into tight areas to choose the best items (and we all know they are always tucked away in unreachable corners) on sale. They are all set to celebrate the Chinese New Year in full swing.
The Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year festival lasts from the first to the 15th day of the first month according to the lunar calendar. In the past, the Lunar New Year was also recognised as the Spring Festival. In agricultural society, this was one of the few occasions families could come together to have meals and catch up on the latest family gossip*. Over time, it developed into a custom for Chinese families to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
*Our overactive imagination of what we think village gossip would be like:
Cousin Mei: “I understand Second Uncle bought a new water buffalo for his neighbour the Lims.”
Cousin Ling: “What! That tightwad? He's so cheap, when his roof leaked over his bedroom, he put a bucket there and claimed it was an attached bathroom with shower, just to save money on repairs.”
Cousin Mei: “Well apparently he bought the water buffalo as a birthday present for the Lim's second daughter.”
Both: “Oh….” (Knowing smiles)
Cousin Ling: “Well she is of a marriageable age…”
The origins of Chinese New Year go way back. There are many variations of the legend of how Chinese New Year originated. Our personal favourite is the version that describes a tale of a ferocious beast known as “Nian” who terrorised villagers every New Year's eve at night. The villagers lived in fear and dreaded Lunar New Year's eve. Until one Lunar New Year's eve, an old stranger announced he was going to convince the beast to give up eating humans. The story goes on where the old stranger got “Nian” to defeat other beasts before agreeing to let himself be eaten up by “Nian”.
“Nian” was obviously looking forward to a tasty morsel to start the Lunar New Year right when suddenly the old man whips off his clothes and flashes his red undergarments at the ferocious beast. “Nian,” terrified of the colour red, was defeated by the old stranger this way. Personally, if a gentrified looking man flashed his red undergarments at me, I'd be scarred for life too! Other versions mention that the villagers defeated “Nian” by lighting up firecrackers and putting up lots of red colour because “Nian” was terrified of loud noises created by the lighted firecrackers and the colour red. Which explains why red is such an auspicious colour for Chinese New Year.
There are many customs to be observed during this festive occasion. The all time favourite custom for singles and children is when they receive red packets or “hong pows” from married relatives or friends. It is said that the significance doesn't lie in the amount given (well excuse me! We beg to differ!) but that it is a symbol of celebration, well wishes and good fortune.
Other customs include major home spring cleaning before the Lunar New Year, putting away brooms on New Year's Eve to prevent sweeping away of one's wishes, and having to keep awake all night on the eve to welcome the Lunar New Year.
A popular New Year dish “Yu Sheng” is enjoyed in a rather fun and messy manner. Families squeeze round the dining table, using their chopsticks, toss shredded vegetables and slices of raw fish as high as they can to ensure their wishes come true.
The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac sign are arranged in a certain order. Pretty handy for recording the years and one could use it to identify which year they were born in (as practised by the Eastern Zhou Dynasty 771 B.C. – 255 B.C.). It soon became a lot more sophisticated and one could use the system for divining fortunes, selecting suitable marriage partners and guessing the age of a person. For example by asking what animal sign they are, one could make an estimate how old the person is. The animals represent certain characteristics and traits. The Chinese believe that a child born in a certain year would take on certain characteristics of the particular animal of that year. This year is the year of the Dog. Those born in the year of the Dog are said to be trustworthy and loyal. The flip side is that they tend to be selfish and have a stubborn streak. If you are born in the year of the dog, you can count among your birthday buddies, celebrities Madonna ( 1958) , Sylvester Stallone (1946) and Uma Thurman (1970). Politicians are the President of the United States , George W. Bush (1946) and former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill (1874).
One indication that Chinese New Year is around the corner here, is when Chinatown is extremely packed with people shopping and stalls displaying Chinese New Year goodies. Take a stroll along the streets and absorb the sounds of hawkers claiming they have the most variety of goodies and best prices (read lowest prices). Rows of waxed ducks (they look like unfortunate jay walkers flattened) waxed sausages and even waxed pigs' trotters line up the hawker stalls. Definitely one for the camera! Long queues snake their way to stalls selling barbequed pork.
The unique aspect of Chinatown in Singapore is its eclectic mix of the different ethnic cultures as well as old Chinatown charms and new Chinatown modern comforts. Don't be too surprised to see an Indian temple in the heart of Chinatown or that many of the shophouses now house advertising agencies, pubs, spas, hair salons and many more. Side by side are the traditional bakeries, coffee stalls, antiques and traditional furniture shops.
You don't have to be Chinese to enjoy Chinese New Year or learn more about Chinese culture. Come for our Red Clogs Down the Five Foot Way™ (A Chinatown Walk) or Secrets of the Red Lantern™ ( Chinatown Night Walk) . On these Walks, we'll reveal interesting snippets of Chinatown that locals themselves may not know!
On that note, with a smile on our faces, we wish you a Happy New Year and may good fortune be bestowed upon you - especially to married couples who wish to give singles and children red packets containing generous amounts of money.
References:
Origins of Chinese Festivals © 1997 ASIAPAC BOOKS, SINGAPORE
Gateway to Chinese Culture © 2003 ASIAPAC BOOKS, SINGAPORE
Origins of Chinese People and Customs © 2001 ASIAPAC BOOKS, SINGAPORE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_(zodiac)