Chinese New Year is an annual celebration marking the start of the
new year according to the chinese lunisolar calendar. Chinese New Year
always falls in the months of January or February, and each chinese new
year is represented by 1 of the 12 creatures of the Chinese Zodiac –
2012 is the year of the Dragon. Chinese New Year is also known as the
Spring Festival, and in pre-modern times it would signal to farmers in
China that they must begin preparation for the sowing of their fields.
“The Spring Festival was the product of an agrarian society. The people who were farmers would plant in spring, harvest in autumn, relax a little in summer and rest in winter. The seasons thus became a living cycle and the harvests were dependant on nature.”
- (Qi Dongye and Lu Xianwen)
After Christmas each year, the Christmas decorations come down in all
the malls, and are quickly replaced with Chinese New Year decorations
of lanterns, cherry blossoms, orange-trees and lots of red colour. In
the lead-up to Chinese New Year distinct classical spring festival music
is played in public places, most commonly the bowed stringed
instrumental style.
The most important element of Chinese New Year is the reunion dinner
which is held on the eve of the New Year. This is the time when all
family members will come for a meal together in the parents or eldest
brother’s home, or nowadays in restaurants as well. The reunion dinner
spread is usually lavish, with multiple courses including dishes of
chicken, pork and fish. In Malaysia, a dish called yee sang is the first
to be served.
Yee sang, also known as the Prosperity Toss, is a
teochew-style raw fish salad, and everyone at the table will help to mix
this salad with their chop sticks – with lots of noise, laughter and
smiles. The tradition is that the higher you toss the salad, the more
your fortunes will grow in the new year.
Gift giving is an important component of Chinese New Year in
Malaysia, with the most common gift amongst family, colleagues and
business contacts being boxes of oranges, or live orange trees. Ang-poh –
little red packets with new currency notes inside – are given to
children single adults and the elderly, and for children this is often
the most exciting part of the celebration. A child with many uncles and
aunties can potentially collect a lot of money from their ang-poh gifts.
The Chinese New Year festivities officially last for 15 days,
culminating in Chap Goh Mei – meaning the 15th night. Chap Goh Mei is
celebrated with a family meal, music, and decorations, similar to the
reunion dinner.
Most states of Malaysia provide two official public holidays for the
first two days of Chinese New Year, however Kelantan and Terengganu only
provide a holiday for the first day.
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