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Singapore Sling

Chinese New Year: the old and the new

By Rennie Loh


旧正月の新旧

中国系シンガポール人の間では現在、太陰暦の新年を迎えるための準備が進められています。来月12日から始まる旧正月は、家族や親せきが一堂に会し、1年の幸せを願う大切な時です。今週は、旧正月の過ごし方や、古くから残るしきたりを紹介します。

With celebrations for the year 2002 barely over, Singapore's Chinese are already busy preparing for another new year. Chinese New Year, also known as "Spring Festival," begins on Feb. 12 this year, the first lunar month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

Amid today's sweeping tide of modernization, Chinese New Year is probably the only annual occasion left with a truly "Chinese" flavor. The Chinese Lunar New Year is a big event for Chinese anywhere in the world and more so for over 70 percent of the Chinese population in Singapore. Besides commanding the longest public holiday (two days), it also heralds one of the noisiest and most elaborate celebrations on the island.

Long before this festive season, the streets of Chinatown come alive with many tiny fairy lights circling round decorations of that year's zodiac sign — horses this year — and often bustle with people buying groceries for the festival. A traditional bazaar is set up in Chinatown, where stalls sell new year decorations, barbecued pork, waxed ducks and traditional sweets, cakes and pastries and colorful seasonal flowers like cherry blossoms.

The 15-day-long festival is an occasion for family get-togethers, reunions and thanksgivings. On the eve, family members who are no longer living at home make a special effort to return and share in a sumptuous reunion meal. Singaporeans living abroad have to endure the worst transport conditions like fully booked trains and airplanes or congested roads. May Yee, a Singaporean pursuing her postgraduate studies in the United States said, "No matter how grueling the journey may turn out to be, all of the inconveniences are considered to be worth it once the family gathers around the table to have our reunion dinner."


There are certain Chinese New Year superstitions and taboos that have never quite lost their pervasive force. For example, people believe it is unlucky to sweep the floor during the first five days of the new year, as one may accidentally sweep one's good luck and wealth out of the house. Bad language and talk of death are severely frowned upon. If a dish is broken, it is vital to say sui sui ping an, which means "peace throughout the year," immediately.

Joss sticks and altar candles must be kept burning day and night to encourage longevity; and in some households, knives and scissors are put away so that no one will accidentally cut the "thread of good luck" in the year to come. During the festival, temples are crowded with worshippers burning incense and presenting offerings in prayer for fortune and happiness in the coming year.

Traditionally, there will be a huge barrage of firecrackers on New Year's Day to welcome the new year and expel the old, but for fire hazard and safety reasons, Singapore has banned firecrackers. New clothes are worn, and visits are made to friends, neighbors and relatives to exchange good wishes of gong xi fa cai, which means "congratulations and prosperity," and an even number of tangerines — symbols of abundant happiness.

To some Chinese, this festival may be one of the most stressful facets of life. It can bring additional hardship for those less well-off, as the festival may relieve a significant amount of painstakingly accumulated savings. One's hard-earned year-end bonus may well be gone by the time lunar new year is over, as family will all be expecting hong baos, customary red envelopes stuffed with cash.

On top of economic pressures, for many housewives, Chinese New Year brings the added burden of endless household chores. In the past, this meant a non-stop round of house cleaning, making cookies, doing the new year shopping and making new clothes. There was also the matter of performing the prescribed observances to heaven and earth, the ancestors, the kitchen god and various other deities.

Many modern, urban families book a holiday abroad to avoid the whole occasion. However, Mr. Lim, a businessman in his 50s, begs to differ, "At one point we tried the fashionable thing, taking the family away for a vacation, but being abroad we really missed all the festivities."

Lynn, a yoga instructor in her late 20s, feels especially turned off by the orgy of consumption connected with the festival. She says, "If we redefine lunar new year in terms of its contemplative and spiritual meaning, rather than just regarding it as an occasion for feasting and partying, then we can better sense how time passes, and see that another phase in our working lives has been completed."

It is no surprise that amid the hectic pace of modern life, some of the fun has gone out of Chinese New Year. But as a custom that has been part of Chinese culture for so long, it continues to occupy a unique position in our lives. The question that remains now is how well we can adapt and update this ancient tradition to fit the changing needs of our modern society.


Shukan ST: Jan. 25, 2002

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