Chinese New Year 2013

[Terpe]

10 February 2013 Chinese New Year - Year of the snake

[raynaputi]

GONG XI FA CAI!!!

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!!!

I miss tikoy..

[Terpe]

Oddly, in our house, we tend to make a special celebration for Chinese New Year. Probably from our time in Yokohama. We lived just 15 minutes walk from the biggest Chinatown in Asia.

[raynaputi]

I am part Chinese so my family celebrates it..and my mum usually distributes tikoy to neighbours and friends..and my officemates always expected me to bring some to work.. When I lived in Singapore, Chinese New Year is the most celebrated occasion there and every day of the week before and after Chinese New Year, you can see these dragon dances in every establishment! It got to a point where I have to wear earplugs to not hear them! hahahaha

[MissAna]

i was born in year of the snake

[Steve.r]

We are sat here looking out the apartment windows right now looking over the Shanghai skyline. Since dark the whole city has been booming with fireworks and all around there are rockets exploding. So nice to be here together and enjoying the spectacle

[Terpe]

We are sat here looking out the apartment windows right now looking over the Shanghai skyline. Since dark the whole city has been booming with fireworks and all around there are rockets exploding. So nice to be here together and enjoying the specticle

Wow, that does sound so nice.
Happy new year to all Steve

[Terpe]

Of lucky charms and delicious superstitions

Welcoming an auspicious Year of the Water Snake
Although we don’t see them jumping in polka-dotted (or striped) clothes with pockets full of jingling coins; opening house windows and doors; and honking car horns at the stroke of midnight, Filipinos probably believe and follow more

Chinese superstitions at the start of every New Lunar Year.

According to Chinese beliefs, what happens on New Year’s Day sets a precedent for the rest of the year—and naturally, everyone wants to start the year on the right foot. Some of the most popular customs include: The giving of red envelopes or “ang pao” to children; getting a hair-cut but without washing the hair so that good luck is not washed away; paying all debts and avoid lending money; cleaning the entire house the day before new year so as not to sweep good fortune away; avoiding the use of sharp, pointy objects as they may cut off fortune; and of course buying lucky charms and feasting on prosperity dishes.

It also seems like consulting feng shui experts have become more popular than psychics and fortunetellers, as Filipinos are more interested to know how their Chinese Zodiac signs would fare rather than listen to some shockingly vague disaster predictions.

To welcome the Year of the Water Snake, Mandarin Oriental’s resident feng shui expert Joseph Chau shared several tips during his yearly press lunch.

It may be the Year of the Snake, but Chau says wearing snake-leather items, snake-print accessories or buying those snake figurines for your house, does not guarantee good luck.

As for the lucky charms Chau showed a pair of Happy Hippos (to protect against theft), a wealth guard; love plum chum; sure win horse; jade pendants; longevity coin and a feng shui gong, which should be placed at the center of the home and hit six times every day to ward off bad luck.

The lucky colors of the year are, gold, silver, white (but never go all-white as it is worn funerals) as well as yellow, beige and brown. While red is generally a lucky color for the Chinese, the feng shui master notes that 2013 is a special year and said wearing red should be avoided especially during the months of May, June and July.

For more luck, one may place these five lucky fruits on the dining table on Chinese New Year’s Eve: Pomelo, pineapple, apple, banana, orange; plus a bunch of Chinese celery and spring onion (with roots). “The fruits symbolize a good harvest, the celery signifies hard work and the spring onion, intelligence,” he explained.

Lucky meals
In keeping with Chinese customs, the Mandarin Oriental Manila’s master chefs annually lay out menus filled with dishes symbolic of wealth, good fortune, and family unity. Among them are the New Year’s Five Happiness Combination Platter of barbecue suckling pig, Peking duck rolls, jellyfish and crabmeat spring rolls. Together, these symbolize a bountiful harvest for the coming year, as well as unity.

Other lucky dishes include braised assorted seafood with crab roe and tofu soup; stewed abalone, sea cucumber and bailing mushrooms with vegetables, Beijing style; steamed live garoupa with superior homemade soy sauce; wok-fried prawns with XO sauce.

Master Chau pointed out that in the Chinese language, the words “fish” and “profit” are homophonic, or sound the same, and so eating steamed fish during Chinese New Year means more profit.

While Filipinos avoid eating chicken during the New Year because of the “isang kahig, isang tuka” nature, eating chicken is actually considered healthy and symbolizes prosperity and completeness for the Chinese.

Another Chinese dish that is gaining popularity in the Philippines is the Yee Sang or Yu Shang, also known as “Prosperity Toss,” which has more than 20 ingredients The yee sang is tossed as high as possible while guests shout out their wishes—the higher the toss the more likely your wish would be granted.

Finally, Chinese New Year for Filipinos would never be complete without tikoy, or “nian gao.” which signifies prosperity and improvements in one’s life.

But as Master Chau and all the other the experts always stress, one should not rely on having lucky charms and eating prosperity dishes, as getting ahead in life requires a lot of dedication and hard work all throughout the year

Source:-
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php...-superstitions

[Arthur Little]

When I lived in Singapore, Chinese New Year is the most celebrated occasion there and every day of the week before and after Chinese New Year, you can see these dragon dances in every establishment!

Ah so ... Chinese New Year's inclined to "drag on" > in Singapore, eh?

[Dedworth]

Chinese Year of The Snake - UK Year of The Horse

[raynaputi]

Chinese Year of The Snake - UK Year of The Horse

[sars_notd_virus]

Xin nian kuai le!

[Terpe]

Chinese Year of The Snake - UK Year of The Horse

Very good
Best yet!!