14th Feb 2010 (1)
CHINESE NEW YEAR
GONG XI FA CAI as pronounced in Mandarin, and KUNG HEI FAT CHOY
as pronounced in Cantonese both mean 'wishing you lots of wealth'.
The Chinese New Years fall on the new moon on the first day of the New
Year and the celebration ends on the 15th of that month. New Year's Eve
and New Year's Day are celebrated with families and relatives and it is a
time for reunion.
When I was young in Hong Kong, I had to go with my parents to visit our
uncles and aunties on the first few days of the Chinese New Year. A platter
of oranges and tangerines and a candy tray with dried sweet fruit and
candies were offered to visitors in every household.
In the streets, firecrackers were let off by children, and the loud bangs from
the firecrackers frightened me tremendously. Some firecrackers were really
loud. Most of the shops were closed, and pavements were literally covered
in red by the remains of the firecrackers.
Mum used to make turnip cake (a savoury) and lotus paste cake (a sweet) in
the New Year. The word cake "糕" in Chinese has the same pronunciation
as another Chinese character '高' which means 'promotion". We all enjoyed
eating the turnip cake that mother cooked.
Children and unmarried friends, as well as close relatives were given 'lai
see', which were little red packets with money in them. They were
supposed to bring good fortune to the recipients. I could never get excited
about the Chinese New Year when I was young because mother used to
take away all my 'lai see' money, because she said she had to spend a
fortune to give 'lai see' to other children, and I could understand it.
After I got married, my mother-in-law celebrated Chinese New Year in a very
traditional way. On New Year's Eve, all the family members would have a
reunion dinner at home. On New Year's Day, my mum-in-law always
prepared a vegetarian dish called "jai" for us. This I did not know why. Other
food served on Chinese New Year day included a whole fish, and chicken,
which must be presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize
completeness. Daughters-in-law like me had to formally offer tea to their in-
laws and greeted them with good wishes, such as "good health, good
fortune, etc." In return, I would get 'lai see' from each of them, and the
money inside the red packets usually was a handsome sum. I can still
remember that in one year, I spent the lucky money to buy myself an
expensive Chinese style quilted dressing gown, which was in green. I loved it.
At work, most offices were decorated with huge and pretty cherry blossom
trees in large vases. Flowers signified wealth and prosperity. It was very
important that the flowers should bloom on New Year's Day, as that would
foretell a year of good business. Tangerines were also displayed at the
reception of the office as it signified gold. These decorations would also be
used in private homes. It was a practice that most businesses settled their
debts before Chinese New Year's Day, as no one would want to carry a debt
over to the next year.
I remember my mum-in-law had the entire house cleaned before New Year's
Day and she would hide the broom away on the first few days of the New
Year. She made sure that we did not sweep the floor on New Year's Day as
she believed that by doing so, good fortune would be swept away. She
bought us new underwear and slippers and advised us to wear them on New
Year's Day. Why ? I don't know. My mum-in-law always made sure family
members should refrain from using unlucky words on the first 15 days of the
New Year and I used to giggle about it.
My mother-in-law did not allow any of her family members to wash their hair
because it would mean that we would have washed away good luck for the
New Year. Red clothing was preferred during this festive occasion, and I did
not mind wearing red in the Chinese New Year's Day, as red is my favourite
colour. Red is considered a happy colour and sure to bring lots of luck.
My children loved the Chinese New Year, because they received a huge
amount of 'lai see' from adults I saved the lai see money for them from the
year they were born. In the summer vacation just before they entered
universities, both my children had accumulated a great amount of 'lai see'
money, which they spent on a trip to the States.
Fu "福" is a lucky word. Most families would have this character printed or
written on a piece of red paper and hang them on the wall. In the last ten
years or so, people paste it up upside down intentionally. The saying "upside
down Fu", means "Fu arrives".
Yuen-yee
CHINESE NEW YEAR
GONG XI FA CAI as pronounced in Mandarin, and KUNG HEI FAT CHOY
as pronounced in Cantonese both mean 'wishing you lots of wealth'.
The Chinese New Years fall on the new moon on the first day of the New
Year and the celebration ends on the 15th of that month. New Year's Eve
and New Year's Day are celebrated with families and relatives and it is a
time for reunion.
When I was young in Hong Kong, I had to go with my parents to visit our
uncles and aunties on the first few days of the Chinese New Year. A platter
of oranges and tangerines and a candy tray with dried sweet fruit and
candies were offered to visitors in every household.
In the streets, firecrackers were let off by children, and the loud bangs from
the firecrackers frightened me tremendously. Some firecrackers were really
loud. Most of the shops were closed, and pavements were literally covered
in red by the remains of the firecrackers.
Mum used to make turnip cake (a savoury) and lotus paste cake (a sweet) in
the New Year. The word cake "糕" in Chinese has the same pronunciation
as another Chinese character '高' which means 'promotion". We all enjoyed
eating the turnip cake that mother cooked.
Children and unmarried friends, as well as close relatives were given 'lai
see', which were little red packets with money in them. They were
supposed to bring good fortune to the recipients. I could never get excited
about the Chinese New Year when I was young because mother used to
take away all my 'lai see' money, because she said she had to spend a
fortune to give 'lai see' to other children, and I could understand it.
After I got married, my mother-in-law celebrated Chinese New Year in a very
traditional way. On New Year's Eve, all the family members would have a
reunion dinner at home. On New Year's Day, my mum-in-law always
prepared a vegetarian dish called "jai" for us. This I did not know why. Other
food served on Chinese New Year day included a whole fish, and chicken,
which must be presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize
completeness. Daughters-in-law like me had to formally offer tea to their in-
laws and greeted them with good wishes, such as "good health, good
fortune, etc." In return, I would get 'lai see' from each of them, and the
money inside the red packets usually was a handsome sum. I can still
remember that in one year, I spent the lucky money to buy myself an
expensive Chinese style quilted dressing gown, which was in green. I loved it.
At work, most offices were decorated with huge and pretty cherry blossom
trees in large vases. Flowers signified wealth and prosperity. It was very
important that the flowers should bloom on New Year's Day, as that would
foretell a year of good business. Tangerines were also displayed at the
reception of the office as it signified gold. These decorations would also be
used in private homes. It was a practice that most businesses settled their
debts before Chinese New Year's Day, as no one would want to carry a debt
over to the next year.
I remember my mum-in-law had the entire house cleaned before New Year's
Day and she would hide the broom away on the first few days of the New
Year. She made sure that we did not sweep the floor on New Year's Day as
she believed that by doing so, good fortune would be swept away. She
bought us new underwear and slippers and advised us to wear them on New
Year's Day. Why ? I don't know. My mum-in-law always made sure family
members should refrain from using unlucky words on the first 15 days of the
New Year and I used to giggle about it.
My mother-in-law did not allow any of her family members to wash their hair
because it would mean that we would have washed away good luck for the
New Year. Red clothing was preferred during this festive occasion, and I did
not mind wearing red in the Chinese New Year's Day, as red is my favourite
colour. Red is considered a happy colour and sure to bring lots of luck.
My children loved the Chinese New Year, because they received a huge
amount of 'lai see' from adults I saved the lai see money for them from the
year they were born. In the summer vacation just before they entered
universities, both my children had accumulated a great amount of 'lai see'
money, which they spent on a trip to the States.
Fu "福" is a lucky word. Most families would have this character printed or
written on a piece of red paper and hang them on the wall. In the last ten
years or so, people paste it up upside down intentionally. The saying "upside
down Fu", means "Fu arrives".
Yuen-yee
Chinese New Year market