Chinese New Year
It's Chinese New Year, and my parents are in town.
The Chinese traditionally follow a 12-month lunar calendar, which means I have two birthdays, my Chinese one and my "Western" one. (Not that I know when my Chinese one is... I don't think even my parents know!) You are always one year older in Chinese years, because when the year following your birth year rolls around, it's counted as the second year. Interesting, eh? Instant aging! :P
Chinese New Year celebrations last for 15 days, the last day being Chap Goh Meh which has been dubbed the "Chinese Valentine's Day". Since it's the 15th day of the month, the moon would be at its fullest, probably adding to the day's romantic overtones. In Penang, one of the Malaysian states, maidens have this weird practice of throwing mandarin oranges into the sea on this day to signal their "availability" to any "single and looking" bachelor. Apparently in the olden days, girls were so protected that this was the only day they were allowed to socialise. An historian has been quoted as saying that the girls would come out to visit the temples, then proceed to popular seaside spots, bring along oranges to eat or throw into the sea with wishes of finding suitable husbands. Maybe I should try throwing an orange or two this year, eh? *grin*
Chinese New Year is traditionally a family time. People fly back from all corners of the globe to be present at this event. The extended family gathers under the family patriarch's roof (or matriarch, if the patriarch no longer lives) and enjoys a reunion dinner on the New Year's Eve.
On New Year's day, everybody is supposed to dress in new clothes and the younger ones wish their elders a happy new year. In return, the married couples present the young ones with small red envelopes containing money. This is called "ang pow" ("ang" means "red" in the Hokkien dialect). Red is an auspicious colour in Chinese culture, thought to bring prosperity and good luck.
The amount given depends on the closeness of the connection between giver and receipient. For example, in my family, nephews and nieces usually receive $10, more distant relatives receive $5, and acquaintances or people who come to visit receive $2. These may go up if the year has been a prosperous one for the giver or if the giver is feeling more generous ;)
We also go visiting, usually making the rounds of relatives' houses and sometimes dropping in on friends. This is otherwise known as "augmenting the ang pow collection"!! I notice, though, that the older I get, the less ang pow I get, probably because I'm an adult now. I don't have to give any, since I'm not married, but I definitely don't have the "cute factor" anymore, the one that makes adults want to indulge you. A pity :P
There are a lot of superstitions associated with the Chinese New Year. Chinese culture is steeped in symbolism; for example, the word for "fish" sounds similar to the word for "abundance", so the fish has come to symbollise abundance: it can be found on Chinese New Year greeting cards, and fish is always served at traditional wedding dinners and other celebrations.
When we were in school, we learnt the Chinese believe that to sweep the floor on New Year's Day would be to sweep the good luck away. Also, burning firecrackers at the stroke of midnight was thought to scare away evil spirits. (As if they'd be so easily scared.) I suppose there are probably lots of other traditions, but because my family is not a very traditional family and is totally unsuperstitious, I don't know any others!
More on traditions at Shiokadelicious, BWG, and Graceshu. Reports on the family gathering later :) Wishing all my readers a Happy Chinese New Year!