With the Chinese New Year down the corner, I did not realise that I'd be delving into it so much as I am doing now. You see the concept is new to me having stayed in India - the only one country I knew in detail before I moved to Singapore.
My knowledge of the Chinese year is limited. All I know is that I am born in the year of Tiger, my daughter in the year of monkey (she has many traits of one) and my husband a pig (now, now, lets not get to those traits...). I had no idea about the depth of traditions, the scale of preparations and the excitement that goes around CNY. Now I am living in the midst of one to get a real feel.
In the last one week, I have discovered some wonderful, some bizzare and some very macro repurcussions associated with the CNY. But most of all what I appreciate are the many similarities between the Chinese and the Indian cultures.
Firstly, its still a question being asked by many like me - when is Chinese New Year? And the reason for that is that it is never a fixed date and is ever changing, much like the Indian festival dates. This year the CNY falls on the 3rd Feb, marking the onset of the spring season like always. The crazy thing is that with the kind of downpour Singapore is experiencing it hardly could be anything but the midst of a monsoon season.
Secondly, much like the Diwali, CNY is also all about family. And its a tradition that every family gives its house spring cleaning. Cleaning sweeps away all the bad luck they say, and makes way for good fortune to flow in freely. Red is the color of the season - decorations, paintings, lanterns all adorn the private and public areas in bright red to ward off evil. Sounds familiar!!
2011 is the year of rabbit and is considered be very lucky, standing for new beginnings and arrivals. But the moot point here is that the Rabbit child is considered lucky (unlike a Tiger child) and the new year could have many couples extending their broods and there by addressing one of the top concerns of Singapore ie the falling birth rate. A total fertility rate of more than 2 is required to relace the population but for Singapore it has been declining and the latest no is at 1.23.
The Chinese New Year celebrations begin half a month prior to the actual new year and extend half a month beyond the new year. And a lot of money is exchanged in the economy and the beauty industry sees a fabulous spike too. Of the bizzare repurcussions of the CNY is the fact that if you need to do anything as mundane as visit a beauty salon, its advised that you book an appointment weeks if not a month in advance. Saloons are over-booked and if you are a new comer like me - you'd have to resort to desperate DIY methods to look presentable while the rest of them shine, all preened.
Have a happy new year all!
My knowledge of the Chinese year is limited. All I know is that I am born in the year of Tiger, my daughter in the year of monkey (she has many traits of one) and my husband a pig (now, now, lets not get to those traits...). I had no idea about the depth of traditions, the scale of preparations and the excitement that goes around CNY. Now I am living in the midst of one to get a real feel.
In the last one week, I have discovered some wonderful, some bizzare and some very macro repurcussions associated with the CNY. But most of all what I appreciate are the many similarities between the Chinese and the Indian cultures.
Firstly, its still a question being asked by many like me - when is Chinese New Year? And the reason for that is that it is never a fixed date and is ever changing, much like the Indian festival dates. This year the CNY falls on the 3rd Feb, marking the onset of the spring season like always. The crazy thing is that with the kind of downpour Singapore is experiencing it hardly could be anything but the midst of a monsoon season.
Secondly, much like the Diwali, CNY is also all about family. And its a tradition that every family gives its house spring cleaning. Cleaning sweeps away all the bad luck they say, and makes way for good fortune to flow in freely. Red is the color of the season - decorations, paintings, lanterns all adorn the private and public areas in bright red to ward off evil. Sounds familiar!!
2011 is the year of rabbit and is considered be very lucky, standing for new beginnings and arrivals. But the moot point here is that the Rabbit child is considered lucky (unlike a Tiger child) and the new year could have many couples extending their broods and there by addressing one of the top concerns of Singapore ie the falling birth rate. A total fertility rate of more than 2 is required to relace the population but for Singapore it has been declining and the latest no is at 1.23.
The Chinese New Year celebrations begin half a month prior to the actual new year and extend half a month beyond the new year. And a lot of money is exchanged in the economy and the beauty industry sees a fabulous spike too. Of the bizzare repurcussions of the CNY is the fact that if you need to do anything as mundane as visit a beauty salon, its advised that you book an appointment weeks if not a month in advance. Saloons are over-booked and if you are a new comer like me - you'd have to resort to desperate DIY methods to look presentable while the rest of them shine, all preened.
Have a happy new year all!
2 comments:
Thank you. Brings back memories of some of the celebrations I witnessed when I used to spend some summers with my grandparents in Singapore. Cleaning I remember was a big part. And the colour red
Wow ! You can really pen your thoughts down really well !
Impressive ! You must must keep it going.
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