Chinese New Year is here again!

We seemed to have lost two years to the lockdowns due to the global pandemic but in the past few years, Chinese New Year celebrations returned with a vengeance and for many, it was a major celebration to make up for lost time with family and friends.

 

Chinese New Year meet-up with our immediate
family members in the UK, Australia and Kuala
Lumpur with us in Johor Baru via Zoom in 2021

Now as the Chinese prepare to usher in the Lunar New Year of the Dragon, the celebrations seemed to be gearing up for events celebrated in an even grander scale.

 

After the lockdowns and enforced separations, what matters most for my family, my friends and I, is the privilege to meet-up in person again.

 

Travel plans are in place for journeys home to a Reunion dinner planned for the eve of the lunar new year – a very important event – especially after the years of uncertainty due to the global pandemic.

 

Plans are also afoot for a group of Johor girls who now live in Singapore, to cross the border by train to Johor for a gathering with us, Johor girls who still live in Johor Baru.

 

Chinese New Year goodies to enjoy

While the elderly in our families are advancing in age, plans are now changed to accommodate their needs. So instead of dining out in restaurants and hotels, meals are arranged comfortably at home for the convenience of the seniors.

 

Since the lockdown years, restaurants have accommodated takeaways of not only dishes but entire banquet menus. While most restaurants have reverted to dine-in arrangements, many still offer takeaway options.

 

In the days ahead of the dawn of the new lunar year or Spring Festival, traditional Chinese families have much to do at home with a major project for decluttering, also known as Spring Cleaning.

 

Homes, particularly those which are expecting visitors, will do everything to spruce up the porch and living room with festive decorations and fresh flowers – or artificial blossoms – whichever works to enhance the space.

 

Typical goodies to snack on at Chinese New Year

Don’t be surprised that a little touch of Red ribbons tied to a green bamboo plant can make a difference to an otherwise ordinary room.

 

Speaking of Red… Red is an auspicious colour to the Chinese who believe that this bright would usher in good fortune and prosperity.

 

Traditional Chinese will buy “something new” to wear for the new year so the shops and malls will stock items designed in the colour Red… from dresses, shirts, T-shirts to underwear for both men and women.

 

I learnt from my grandmother that women’s underwear was a very private item and in the olden days, girls and women do not hang their underwear out – even to dry.

 

Instead, the underwear was hung under their beds.

 

I could picture that because my grandmother’s bed was a traditional Chinese double-bed designed with a canopy and raised so high that even after its legs were sawn down, the space below was wide enough for a child to crawl underneath.

 

Now when I walk pass the shops that were dedicated to sell women’s underwear, I cannot help but be distracted by the range of Red bras and panties hung right up front, a far cry from those days when these mysterious garments were discreetly kept from view.

 

Clearly, there must be a demand for the manufacturers/designers to produce such a large supply of Red underwear, especially for the lunar new year season.

 

Cookies designed to celebrate
the lunar year of the Rat

Another interesting thing that evolved over the years was the embracing of the lunar calendar which is represented by a string of animals.

 

For the uninitiated, please take a look at the pages of our traditional kuda calendar which keeps a record of the lunar calendar in tandem with our Gregorian calendar.

 

Because we will be ushering in the lunar year of the Dragon on February 10, there is a huge focus on dragon motifs in the mall and street décor, the arrangement of salad ingredients for the Yee Sang dish, and dragon dance performances among other dragon-related events.

 

In fact, an innovative brand has even offered prizes for photos of the most creatively arranged Yee Sang salad dish in the Dragon theme.

 

Very often, traditional Chinese who believe in Chinese astrology, may agree that those born in the years represented by such animals like, Rat, Rabbit or Horse, will have similar character traits as those animals.

 

Consider how those born in the lunar year of the Ox are supposed to be, “hardworking” while those born in the year of the Tiger may be “ferocious” so this becomes a fun topic to discuss during Chinese New Year gatherings.

 

Among the traditional festive food for everyone to enjoy during this season are Mandarin oranges and pineapple tarts.

 

A generous pineapple topping on
this open tart

It is interesting that the art of making good quality pineapple tarts have been mastered by various people in our multi-cultural community so this festive season will see a flurry of baking to meet a demand for the preferred type of tarts.

 

There is even a wide choice for connoisseurs to choose from a range of tarts made with a particularly type of pastry or butter and pineapple fillings on open tarts that are moist and generously topped into a tiny hill or made into rolls or balls…

 

Over the years, we have seen the introduction of “new products” like deep-fried slices of arrowroot crisps, crab-stick crisps and fish-skin crisps coated in salted egg flavour.

 

While many snacks, love-letters, cookies and crisps are mass produced, there are still many die-hard connoisseurs who prefer to make-their-own – once a year – to enjoy and present to family and friends with much pride.

 

Another trend we have seen is the addition of familiar snacks like murukku and rempeyek crisps from the Indian and Malay communities to enjoy along with the many Chinese New Year goodies.

 

Traditional Nian Gao or Kueh Bakul

As hotels and restaurants now serve Halal versions of Chinese festive banquets, friends in our multi-cultural community have become familiar with Chinese festive traditions like eating nian gao (Mandarin) or kueh bakul, tossing Yee Sang salads for better fortune and savouring the high-value ingredients brewed in the banquet-in-a-basin, poon choy (Cantonese).

 

The tradition of nian gao, also called sticky rice cake, is a sweet treat offered to the Kitchen god in the homes of traditional Chinese families, about a week before the dawn of the lunar new year.

 

According to beliefs, the Kitchen god would leave for heaven to make his annual report to the Jade Emperor and this ritual of offering nian gao to the Kitchen god aims to “seal his lips” so that he would fail to give a poor report about the family.

 

Red packets designed in shades of orange and pink

One of my favourite Chinese New Year traditions must be the tradition of giving and receiving lai-see (Cantonese) or fortune money in hong pau or Red packets.

 

My mother taught us that it was impolite to open the Red packets upon receiving them so when my sisters and I were dressed to visit our grandparents, we always carried our own handbags so that we could store away all the Red packets we received.

 

In Chinese tradition, married people will present Red packets while the singles may receive for as long as they remained single. While senior folks give Red packets, they may also receive the same from their children and grandchildren.

 

Take a closer look at the designs on Red packets and you will see that they have become creative artwork that is worth collecting.

 

Over the years, I learnt that it was not the contents of the Red packet that mattered but the warm wishes received from the giver of that Red packet.

 

Ingredients to top off the Yee Sang
salad for the prosperity toss

Another sad reality is the absence of senior members of the family who have passed on, some quite suddenly during the pandemic years, and missing them especially during festive gatherings at Chinese New Year.

 

For most families, the traditions passed down from generation to generation, continue as families make new traditions together. But for some, their traditions ended with the passing of the family patriarch or matriarch.

 

We cannot see into the future but one thing is for sure: we do not know if we will meet the senior family members again at the next Chinese New Year.

 

So as we countdown to the dawn of the lunar year of the Dragon, let us treasure our traditions and the privilege to meet-up in person.

 

Xin Nian Kwai Ler (Mandarin) or Happy Chinese New Year, everyone and let us make the most of our time together this festive season.