Gong Xi Fa Cai!

On Sunday, February 18, 2007, Chinese all over the world ushered in The Year of the Pig. The year 2007 is Ding Hai year, Ding being the stem which represents fire and Hai is the branch which is water. Together they form the Roofing Earth, which means that the trendy colours for the year are red (fire), black (water) and yellow (earth). Because of the three elements involved, everyone would refer to the year as golden, which means a good, prosperous one. It is also a good year to have a baby as this kind of Boar year occurs only once every 600 years! Businesses that would thrive this year would be those associated with fire, water and earth, such as restaurants, iron and steel, bricks and roofing construction.

Celebrations were held at the family/community level in Kuantan, although they were low-key affairs! Pat and I attended mass in the morning at St. Thomas Church. The church was all decked out in red bunting, Chinese lanterns and large baskets of mandarins to symbolize good luck and prosperity. The priests wore their red robes and the altar boys wore white surpluses with red batik capes around their shoulders. It was all very colourful! (A big thank you to Pauline from KL for these pictures!)



At the end of the Mass, Fr. Eugene invited the congregation to remain for the traditional blessing of the gifts: 2 baskets of flowers (symbolizing love for ancestors), 3 cups of rice (symbolizing remembrance of ancestors), 2 trays of fruit (symbolizing admiration of ancestors) as well as joss sticks and red candles. This was done from in front of the altar as you can see in the following pictures. After the ceremony, the Lion Dance entered from the front door...talk about a mix of cultures!


Offering the joss sticks


Offering the two trays of mandarin oranges


Two lions coming up the aisle to the sound of the drum, cymbals and sticks!



The lions in front of the altar



Children giving gifts of oranges to the lions



At the end of the lion dance, in the courtyard outside, Fr. Eugene teases the lion with the gift of Ang Pau (money inside a red envelope to pay for the dance troop, attached to a small head of lettuce!). The lion dancers stood on top of one another's shoulders in order to grab the ang pau dangling just out of reach! It took some effort, but in the end, the lions were successful!

Celebrations for Chinese New Year continued for 15 days, with many families returning to their homes over the first few days for feasting or for attending Open Houses. We were invited to one Open House in our neighbourhood and enjoyed tasting some of the delectable treats which were offered. Besides red lanterns, people decorate with plants that signify good luck and wealth, for example, pussy willow, forsythia, cherry blossom and lucky bamboo, tied with tiny red ribbons! Some people believe that by placing these plants in their homes, they will bring fortune and peace for the family in the new year. Most of these flowers are imported from China, Holland, Australia and New Zealand.

A new young couple moved into the duplex next door to us and on Day 3, the young lady’s parents had a lion dance troop come in and perform so as to bring luck upon the couple and their new home. Jen and I decided to be a little bold and wandered over, camera in hand, and watched from the front gate. Before long, we were invited into the carport area and were able to watch the proceedings from close up. Below are some pictures we took of the occasion:



The lions spent some time in the threshold of the new home. They were peeling mandarin oranges and separating the segments in order to form a Chinese character on the floor just inside the door. Likely it spelled out good fortune for the young couple in their new home.



Here you see the two lions cavorting together in the carport, eight mandarins beside them on the tiles (8 is a lucky number for the Chinese).



More peeling of mandarins for a few minutes!



Getting a string of firecrackers ready to light



Smoke from the noisy firecrackers, the lions bowing in the background!

During the two-week period of CNY (as it is referred to here), many (illegal) firecrackers and fireworks were let off in the neighbourhood night after night. Some businesses were closed for the first week and prices rose in the markets! March 4th was the last day of the holiday period, Chap Goh Meh, and traditionally oranges were thrown into the sea as part of an ancient custom to net a dream husband. Long ago, other items were also thrown into the water, for example, stones (signifying the wish for a big house), peanuts (signifying longevity) and dates (signifying everlasting happiness). The practice of throwing oranges originated from the olden days when young people could not mingle freely and openly express their love. Today, oranges will have names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses written on them before they are thrown into waterways by both males and females, especially in Selangor, Penang and Melacca, areas with large Chinese populations.

Jumpa lagi...and a Happy Chinese New Year to you all! Selamat Talun Baru Cina!