Chinese New Year

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.

The Market near Bugis Junction at Chinese New Year
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2006

Stalls have been erected everywhere, often outside usually quiet shops and all sell the all-important cookies that are a must for the sittings rooms of every household in the Island State.

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-year cycle). 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.

Happy New Year at Suntec City
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2006

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 does not embody the fanfare that surrounds them. One large dinner sized container of cookies typically costs around 3 Singapore Dollars (about one UK pound) at the market stalls and slightly more at some shopping malls and up market shops (2 SGD or 80 UK pence would hardly pay for a lone cookie in some places) 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 be it. Should anyone by chance want money back then this is the time to make some subtle hints as it is bad luck to carry a debt into the New Year.

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.

Aside 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!
The 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 does. 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, Auntie's 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 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 - the envelopes to say the needed 'thank you'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 to advertise 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 'do nots' 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.

At Chinese New Year
Photo Copyright © Ieuan Dolby, 2006

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.