Celebrating Chinese New Year 2011

Chinese New Year festival begins on the first day of the first moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the fifteenth day. February 3, 2011 marks the start of the year of the rabbit.

As early as the second week of January, I received a Chinese New Year card and a hamper.

You know the celebration is coming when you see the decorations at shopping malls.  You may even enjoy the lion or dragon dance performances to commemorate the festival.

The main event in ushering in the New Year is the tossing of the yee sang, a traditional New Year dish, a simple mixture of thin slices of raw fish, shredded vegetables, herbs and sauces.  All the ingredients for the dish are served separately on the same plate, and would then be tossed and mixed, carried with chopsticks high in the air by all at the table, while saying out loud the word loh hei, which means liveliness, prosperity and longevity. This practice is said to herald prosperity for the coming year.

It is customary for married couples to give children and unmarried adults money inserted in red packets known as ang pow, as a gesture to mean that the recipient will enjoy a fruitful and wealthy life.  As I'm still not married, I got to receive ang pow ^.^

During Chinese New Year, 'open' houses are organised for relatives and friends so last Sunday, I went to three.  It was fun meeting those we haven't met for quite a while amidst enjoying good home-cooked meal.


Till next week, happy Chap Goh Meh!