Sunday, January 23, 2011

Chinese New Year Festival In Malaysia

I would like to begin with a video with a nice Chinese New Year song from you tube. Have a feel of how Chinese New Year is being celebrated in Malaysia :-)

The Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year (CNY), as it is more commonly known in Malaysia starts on the 3rd of February this year and we are ushering Year of Rabbit on this day of Year 2011. It starts on 3rd February and ends 15 days later which is known as Chap Goh Meh. Chap Goh in Hokkien dialect means Fifteen in English and the same for Meh means Night, so it is call the 15th Night. Year of Tiger is ending on 2nd of February this year. Just in case, you do not know what these animals signs are all about, I have some info here for you to understand.

There are 12 animal signs all together and we call this Chinese Zodiac Sign which is almost similar to the western horoscope sign. The Chinese Zodiac are based on the year that you were born rather than the day of your birth. The Zodiac Sign consists of 12 animals signs and they are arranged accordingly as to which animal comes first after another. There are 12 years in each cycle represented by 12 animal signs from rat to pig as shown here : Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Lamb, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.

According to Chinese legend, the 12 animals argued as to who would be the first animal in the 12-year cycle. The god decided to hold a contest in which the animals must cross a river. The first animal to cross the river would be the first on the chart followed by the other animals according to their finish. The rat was the smallest of the animals and was expected by the other animals to finish last. Quickly the 12 animals jumped into the river but unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped on his back. As the ox was about to jump on the riverbank to claim first place, the rat jumped off his back and won the race. The pig that was very lazy ended up last. As expected, their peers often tease most children who were born in the year of the pig.

From as early as 2 weeks before 3rd of February, a lot of food stuffs must be kept in the fridge as well as replenishing other food item to ensure they are fill up to the maximum level, shopping for new clothes, exchanging new $$ notes from bank, inserting money in hundreds of angpow (red packet), houses are cleaned and decorated to prepare for this big day because this is the most important annual festival for the Chinese community.

The eve of CNY is the happiest, joyful and forgiving night as all family members from far and near will return home for the reunion dinner, to rekindle family ties and enjoy the sumptuously prepared meals. Dinner is prepared early on the eve with many lavish dishes with symbolic meanings. Dishes such as big fish means a surplus or abundance while shrimp represents happiness and laughter, oyster means good business and clam signifies new horizons.Of course, there are many other varieties of food on the eve.

After the dinner, all family members will stay up late and none will sleep early because it is believed to bring longevity to their parents. So, it is normal to see family members playing cards, mahjong and engage in several other activities just to let the hour pass by more easily. By 12 midnight  the New Year is ushered with the sound of firecrackers and can be heard everywhere. It is very loud and sometimes people who are not familiar with it, will mistaken it as sound of explosion :-) This is the time for them to do their prayer at home and some will go to Temple to pray and giving out donations in the form of money. The most popular Temple in Penang where most will visit is the "Kuan Yin Temple". So, at that hour if you are on the road, the CNY mood can be felt as people who are known and unknown to you will wish you Happy New Year. For some drivers on the road, pressing on the car honk long and loud is another way to wish you the same.

On the first day is the day where all family members will have to visit relatives one after another to show their respect to the older generation before the younger ones. It is a common practise for married couples to give out angpow to children and to those who are unmarried. Giving out angpow signifies that the recipients will enjoy wealth and fruitful life. But, married couples must also give angpow to their parents. I normally will give out angpow to pregnant mother because I believe there is already life inside the womb but this is not a common practise.

Chinese has many beliefs and one of the most important on the first day of CNY is "strictly no broom to sweep the floor" because it is believe that this day brings good luck and good fortune into the house. It can be considered sweeping all the good luck away if anyone sweep the floor on this day.

Apart from this belief, lion dance is another tradition where Chinese believes it brings good fortune while at the same time ward off the evil. There is a fixed price to pay for that but it must be inserted in the angpow.

Red and Gold are usually the favourite colour on Chinese New Year. Red symbolizes happiness while Gold symbolizes wealth. On the first day of Chinese New Year the clothing is preferred to be in red. It is believe to bring bright future.However, some believe it is sufficient to put up a Chinese Character with the word "Prosper" in  Chinese language stick it on the door of the main entrance. This method also bring the same meaninng. My house is decorated with the big Chinese word on the main door :-) Nice and neat ! Definitely brings us more prosperity :-)

The days will go on with many other activities and traditions to follow but the last day of Chinese New Year which is the Chap Goh Meh is the tradition for many unmarried individuals to throw mandarin oranges into the sea. It is believe that those who follow this tradition will find their dream partner and get settle down and be blessed with many children :-)

There are many other traditions which I am not able to cover everything here but these are all the most popular ones among all Chinese. Of course there are celebrations such as "God of Heaven" on the 8th day for the Hokkien community and several other celebrations for Cantonese, Hakka and others.

Lastly, to those celebrating this festival, I wish you "A Happy and Prosperous New Year" and for others, I hope this blog post will give you some insights of Chinese Traditions and Celebration. 

Hope you enjoy reading and I end here with a lion dance performance video !


Cheers :-)

Pearly







14 comments:

  1. Pearly great explanation about a very interesting culture to begin with. I was very fascinated with this info.

    Take care

    Steve

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  2. Hey Steve,
    Thanks for stopping by here :-) Glad you find it interesting ! I thought it may be good for me to write something about this festival since it is being celebrated by all Chinese across the globe.
    Cheers
    Pearly

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  3. This was so interesting. There is a large Chinese and Vietnamese community in Houston, Texas, and every year the Chinese New Year is celebrated around town. But I have never really understood its meaning until now.

    Thank you so much for explaining it, and making it so interesting. I may try to find a way to participate this year with my kids!

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  4. Hey Alexander,
    That is very true, when you understand the meaning, you will find it more interesting. Yeah, I am not sure if it is a practise in the States in giving out angpow to kids from all race and religion too. In my country, when those kids visit us, we will also give out angpow :-)

    Thanks for commenting. Appreciate your precious time spent here :-)

    Cheers
    Pearly

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  5. thanks for sharing your festivities and ceremony with us pearly. what do malaysians think of the new 13th zodiac that was in the news earlier this year? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/new-zodiac-sign-dates-oph_n_808567.html#s223863&title=kristin_leigh

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  6. Hi Melissa,
    Thanks for stopping by :-) WoW!! 13th zodiac..looks like I am behind the news, Melissa.

    Sounds interesting and will check it out from the link you provided ! Truly appreciate the info.

    Cheers
    Pearly

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  7. Hi Pearly. I really enjoyed learning about Chinese New Year. The Lion Dance is beautiful. I will have to put it on my blog. I am always interested in learning about other cultures and especially seeing their music and dance. Thank you for sharing this information.

    Wishing you a song in your heart,
    Miss Leslie @ Music with Miss Leslie.com

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  8. Hi Leslie,
    Great to learn that you are culture ;pver. Yes, I think the Lion Dance is beautiful. I have friend from USA told me, he watched the LION Dance with the whole family and they clapped hands after that :-) It makes me smile :-)

    Let me know when you have put that up on your blog, I love to take a look and support you with nice comment too :-)

    Cheers
    Pearly

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  9. Hi Pearly,

    I've been seeing your name, and now have a face to go along with it!

    Thanks for sharing your very interesting Chinese New Year customs with us. It seem not only to keep your heritage alive, but in the family gatherings, and the visitation of family members, it also keeps families together.

    But now I'm curious . . . what is the "God of heaven" celebration and its corresponding symbolism?

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  10. Hmmm, the "comment as" wouldn't take my name or URl, so I'm commenting again to let you know this is Pastor Sherry at www.reachforthesummit.org/blog!

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  11. Hi Pastor Sherry,
    So glad that we meet on my blog. Thanks for stopping by :-) Will connect with you on facebook once I log in to that site.

    A little explanation of the "God of Heaven" ceremony (guess it is only among the toaist) :-

    Chinese worship the God of Heaven by making sacrificial offerings. It is believe that it is the time when one can cast out all evils and bring in the good, through the ritual offerings to the god.

    Hope this helps to explain the Taoist belief !

    Cheers
    Pearly

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  12. Hey Pearly,

    I love the video! Makes understand a little bit more about the Chinese culture. I have a couple friends that have a huge party in our town and its always a good time.

    Thanks Again!

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  13. Hi Pearly,
    Good to hear about chinese new year...it brings memories back of my time in Singapore.

    BEst wishes

    Peter

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  14. I was not aware of this before.. It is really great to know about Chinese festival celebration type.. You have good post here on Chinese New Year Festival In Malaysia.. Thanks for sharing.

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