Chinese New Year Celebration
Chinese New Year is the biggest and the most important festival for the Chinese communities in Malaysia. The event is to celebrate the first day of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Each year symbolizes one of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
Prior to celebrations, homes are cleaned and decorated with red colour decorations. However it is not allowed to sweep the house during the day of celebration itself because it is believed that by doing so, the good luck will be sweeped out of the house too. On the eve of Chinese New Year, the family members will gather and eat together in the family reunion dinner. The youngsters will have to be courteous and act respectfully towards the elders during the dinner. receive.
On the day of Chinese New Year, the elders and the married couple will give red packets or ang pow containing money to the singles and the children. The single no matter how all are not encouraged to give ang pow. Some believe it will bring bad luck.
Some people will hire a troupe to perform dragon or lion dances in front of their premises to invite good look. They also will open their house for friends and family to visit. Yee Sang is one of the highlight when it comes to Chinese New Year delicacies because it can only be found during the celebration.
Yee Sang is a special dish that contains variety of shredded vegetables mixed together with other ingredients. Once ready people will toss as high as they can the shredded bits into the air by using their chopsticks. The higher the toss, the more amount of good luck they will receive. Although it is prohibited, but some people might light fireworks during celebration. The reasoning is the popping sound of the firecrackers helps warding the evil off the place.
Image by: Adrian R. Tan
Where To Go?
The government usually held a big open house for visitors to experience the event.
Almost every mall in Malaysia will celebrate the event in their premises.
Time
Chinese New Year doesn't have a fixed date since it follows lunar calendar.
However the festival always fall on late January and Early February.
Admission
There is no fee charged for the celebration.