The Monkey Is Already At The Door!!

I went into a mild panic after reading Wena’s post on CNY (that’s Chinese New Year, in case you are wondering) preparations. It suddenly hit me that CNY is only a mere 17 days away!! Ai-yai-yai yai-yai!! We haven’t even begun preparations yet. And there is always so much to do before CNY.

Yes, I of course I already knew CNY was around the corner. (I just didn’t realize how close around the corner it was.) The retailers made sure we didn’t forget that there is another festival coming up. Within days of Christmas, stores were already telling us to quit jingling bells and rocking around the Christmas tree. Their tunes changed and the relentless messages now sung from their speakers were: “gong xi, ah, gong xi, da jia fa da cai” (wishes to you, wishes to you, everyone will prosper – literal translation) and “guo xin nian, zhu xin nian, xin nian dao, nian nian nian, zhu da jia guo ge da fei nian”. Christmas carols have been replaced by CNY songs – in every shop, shopping mall, supermarket…

Walking through Cold Storage the other day, I was struck by the irony of it all. Unsold Christmas goodies (candies, chocolates, Christmas baking and cooking ingredients, even fruit cakes and stollen) jostled for space on the supermarket shelf with freshly delivered CNY cookies, waxed meats etc. The Christmas goodies looked forlorn and dejected. Their shine and appeal have faded. The harried shopper gave them nary a glance. Instead their next door neighbor, the sweet, fragrant pineapple tart was now the star of the show. Yet, undaunted, the Christmas goods cried out for attention as loud as they could, trying to draw attention to their severely marked down, incredibly attractive prices. Oh yes, they were determined indeed to find a new home for themselves before their expiry dates loomed. Alas! To no avail. Their time had come and gone. It was now the turn of the strings of lap cheongs (dried Chinese sausages), the cans of abalone, the trays of peanut cookies, the crates of Chinese mandarins to shine, to regal in all the attention…

I am just so amazed at the shopping capacities of Singaporeans. I would have thought everyone would be all shopped out by now, after weeks and weeks of Christmas shopping. But no, the queues are still there… long, long lines to get into the carpark, longer lines still to pay for the purchases… the jostling continues… ai-yai-yai!

Yet, what is CNY really about? I mean, the “real” traditions that make CNY, well, CNY. Okay folks, make yourself a cuppa, sit back, relax… this could be a long read. And sorry, no pictures to break the monotony – not yet, anyways. Those will follow as and when the events happen. In the meantime, here are just a few (and I mean a few) of the dozens and dozens of traditions that make up CNY. Practices may vary from family to family, from dialect group to dialect group, and sometimes from country to country (eg there are sometimes significant differences between the practices of the Chinese in mainland China and in North Asia, and those of the so-called “overseas Chinese” of South East Asia).

Before New Year
Home
• Let’s start with the home. Spring cleaning starts weeks before CNY. Literally everything is cleaned. The curtains are taken down and brought to the cleaners. Professional cleaners are called in to clean the carpets. Cupboards are cleared of unwanted clutter. Refrigerators are cleaned out and tidied up. Everything in the household gets a clean, sparkling, shiny start to the brand new year! : )
• Even the cars are washed and waxed either the day before New Year’s Eve or on New Year’s Eve itself.
• For some families, it is important to start the new year with new things – new curtains, new bedsheets etc.
• CNY decorations go up. Red is the over-riding theme. Red symbolizes celebration, vitality, happiness, joy, prosperity and abundance. And so red ribbons are tied onto plants, hong baos (red packets) are hung or made into auspicious symbols like dragons, fish and lanterns.
• Dui lians (pairs of auspicious sayings) are hung at the door. I guess this is similar to the Western equivalent of hanging a Christmas wreath on the door. These always appear in pairs, never alone.
• Lots and lots of fresh potted plants and flowers are bought and placed in the house, to signify the arrival of spring and new life.
• Ying niu (pussy willows) are a firm favorite, and are usually decorated with gold and red decorations, much like a Chinese version of the Christmas tree.
• Tao hua (plum blossoms) also herald spring, and have the added significance of bringing love and romance (for those in the family that are yet unmarried).
• Ju zhi (kumquat plants) are also a “must”. They signify gold, prosperity and abundance.
• A recent tradition, imported from the Taiwanese I believe, is the displaying of “fu gui zhu” (prosperity bamboo) in the home. These are sold as pots of tiered green bamboos. There is always only an odd number of tiers – 3, 5 and so on – never an even number. The more tiers there is, it is believed, the greater the prosperity, or so the superstition goes. It is best to buy these plants early if you are keen. The closer it gets to New Year, the higher the prices go. More prosperity for the shop owners! Haha!
• One tradition my mum practices is to tie a bunch of 9 stalks of Chinese leeks with a red ribbon and hang it in the kitchen until after the 15 days of New Year. It means “chang chang jiu jiu you de suan”. Chinese leeks are called “suan” which sounds the same as the word “to count”. So it signifies, monetary prudence, and also that there will be plenty of money to count throughout the year!
• I’m sure there are many more traditions related to the home, but they elude me for the moment…

Personal
• For the person, there too are many preparations to be done.
• It used to be that new clothes are a must. I remember as a kid, we had new everything… new pyjamas, new shoes, new socks, all the way down to new underwear! And everything was in auspicious colors of red, pink or maroon! Nowadays of course, one sees people in black and dark somber colors when visiting relatives. This is still much frowned upon by the elders, but the younger generation feels “fashion” or trends are more important. Personally? Well, I believe that colors do give off “energies” and affect moods. Oranges and yellows stimulate appetite, blues calm etc. So, I think it would be of no harm, and would certainly lift spirits to be dressed in bright cheerful hues for New Year.
• Like the home, the person should start the New Year “tidied up”, fresh and sparkling. So, haircuts should be had before the New Year. Many women will visit their hairdressers on New Year’s Eve to have their hair styled before ushering in the New Year.

Food
There are many foods that are “musts” during Chinese New Year, as they are deemed to convey auspicious significance. Usually these auspicious meanings come from the sound of their names. These appear in no particular order… or rather in the order that my brain is remembering them : D
• Pineapple tarts are a definite favorite. Pineapple or “wang lai” in Hokkien sounds like “prosperity arrives”. So, not only are these little pastry morsels incredibly delicious (and addictive), they also supposedly symbolize the arrival of great wealth in the New Year.
• “Nian gao” or New Year cake. These steamed cakes are made from glutinous rice flour, sugar and water. They signify “nian nian gao shen” or progress and growth every year. They are eaten on the first day of the New Year to symbolize advancement in your career, be it in your educational career if you are a student, or in your professional career or business. By the way, here’s something interesting. These sticky, sweet cakes are so soft and sticky that they cannot be cut with a knife, and are usually cut with a piece of string. More on this later…
• Pomelo or “you zhi”. Sounds like and means “wishes come true” and that one has everything one wishes for.
• Mandarin oranges or “kum” in Cantonese, literally sounds like the word “gold”, and is therefore self-explanatory. In fact, I know of one of my mum’s Cantonese friends who would, every year, on New Year’s Eve, after everyone has gone to bed, scatter mandarins all over the living room floor, so that upon waking on New Year’s day, the whole family would go into the living room and “zhap kum” or "pick up gold". : D Great symbolism for the New Year don’t you think?
• “Suan” or Chinese leeks. As described above. These are seasonal vegetables, and are only available around Chinese New Year every year.
• Abalone or “bao yu”. Another firm favorite, especially with businessmen. The sound of its name carries the symbolism of “guaranteed abundance”.
• Dried oysters or “hao si”. The name sounds like the saying: good tidings and blessings, or good business in the coming year.
• “Fa cai”. This is a black, hair-like desert moss. “Fa” in Chinese means to prosper or to grow rich. This moss is usually cooked with the dried oysters above to form the dish called “hao si fa choy”, signifying an abundant and blessed year ahead.
• “Shen cai” or Chinese lettuce (not the rounded lettuce of the West, but the elongated ones… the ones we always feed the lions of lion dances : ) ) are also a “must” ingredient in New Year dishes. “Shen” means to grow or advance.
• Fish is another dish that is bound to make its appearance at tables in many families. The word for fish, “yu” sounds like the word for “abundance”. And a whole fish (with head and tail) is always served. No fillets or half fishes! This is to ensure that things are seen through to full completion and fruition in the New Year. No half measures!
• Pistachio nuts are called “kai xin guo” in Chinese, meaning “fruit of happiness”.
• Ground nuts (peanuts with shells) are also called “chang shou guo” or “longevity fruits” in Chinese.
• “Gua zhi” or melon seeds. Their meaning: “gua di nian nian” or “to have a long line of descendants”. There are many varieties. Originally there were only the black, red and white ones. But they now come in all kinds of spandangled new-age flavors like green tea, sambal, rose and what have you. Can you believe, to this day, I have never succeeded in cracking open one of these (the white varieties excepted) with my teeth without breaking the inside edible seed? Mine always end up coming out in tiny little bits and pieces. Hahaha!
• Kueh lapis. This is a South East Asian tradition, with Indonesian (I think) origins. A rich spiced butter cake made up of thin layers of cake. Very delicious but extremely time-consuming to make. My mum used to bake this every year, then she gave up. Making just one cake involves up to 1 ½ - 2 1/2 hours of sitting in front of the hot oven. One cannot even get up to go to the bathroom in that time, or you risk coming back to a burnt layer of cake, and have to start all over again. Each thin (approximately 1.5mm thick) layer of cake is painstakingly layered on and baked individually. That’s why purchasing ready-made versions of this cake is very expensive. Oh, almost forgot… the significance of the cake is “bu bu gao shen” or steady advancement/progress, on account of the many layers of the cake.
• “Ba bao pen” or Eight Treasures Tray (or sometimes called the Togetherness Tray) is a common sight in most homes. Traditionally, this is an octagonal tray of eight types of sweets and candies, signifying a sweet year ahead. Nowadays, there are Eight Treasures Tray of all types of foods, from nuts, to crisps and crackers.
• Oh, oh, oh… how can I forget… the most popular dish of all… “Loh Hei Yu Shang” (meaning to generate opportunities, openings, great wealth and prosperity). “Loh” in Cantonese means to “churn” or create (business) opportunities. Sorry, that’s the closest I can get. There just aren’t literal translations or even vaguely close equivalents in English. “Hei” means to “rise”. “Yu” as said before, means abundance. “Shang” is to grow. This is a salad of raw fish slices, grated white radish, grated green radish, grated red carrots, various sweet and vinegared condiments like ginger etc, sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, deep fried dough crackers and a plum sauce dressing. This dish originated from West Malaysia and Singapore, with roots in Southern China. But has now been fervently adopted by the Hongkongers, Taiwanese and just about all Chinese communities around the world. I love the version my mum makes. In fact that is the only version I usually eat. Maybe I’m so used to the balance of flavors in her version, that I don’t particularly enjoy the ones that are served in restaurants. For many people, “loh hei” is a must throughout the 15 days of Chinese New Year. More on this dish when we make our first one of the year ; )

There are many, many more food items… but it will take me the whole night and more…

The New Year Celebrations
The actual New Year celebrations are also filled with traditional “practices”.

New Year’s Eve:
• All cleaning and washing must be done before midnight. No sweeping of floors, washing of clothes etc are allowed on the first day of New Year. This is to avoid sweeping away all the new luck.
• Extra food is cooked on New Year’s Eve to ensure that there are some leftovers for the next day – to symbolize that that will be abundant food going from one year into the next.
• Young children are encouraged to stay up as late as possible on the Eve, to signify that their parents and elders will have a long life.
• On the stroke of midnight, parents will present their unmarried children with hong baos (red packets) containing money. The Cantonese call these packets “lai see” or blessings.

1st Day Of New Year
• In my family, after greeting our parents, we sit down to a breakfast of “nian gao” and “hong zhao gui yen cha”. We usually cut the “nian gao” or glutinous rice New Year cake into very thin slices and pan-fry them with egg. Not sure which dialect this tradition of frying the nian gao with eggs comes from. Foochow maybe? The true tradition would be to eat the nian gao fresh, on its own on the first day of New Year. This cake is then kept for the 15 days of the New Year. Given that there were no refrigeration in the olden days, by the time the 15th day rolled around, the cake would have gone moldy, and so it would be fried to make it edible again. Nowadays, we fry them on the first day, simply because they taste much nicer when fried with eggs! : )
• “Hong zhao gui yen cha” is a “tea” made from boiling red dates, dried longans and sugared winter melons (tang dong gua). It signifies good fortune and abundant blessings for the whole year.
• For a lot of families, I think especially the Hokkien ones, no fresh meat is cooked on the first day of New Year. This came from the tradition of not killing of animals on the first day of the year. This is another reason why a lot of meat and fish are cooked on New Year’s Eve, and the leftovers are eaten on the first day.

2nd Day
• This is traditionally known as “kai nian” or in literal translation “year opening”. This is when the stoves of the home are fired up (for the first time in the new year), and the women cook up a storm. After the quiet celebrations with family on the 1st day, the home is now opened up to all friends and relatives who come and visit and partake of food.
• We used to have an “open house” on the 2nd day of New Year, every year. And my mum and our domestic helper would cook for 100+ people! Just the two of them! Cooking everything from scratch! Imagine that!! (This was in the days before I could cook). They had to cook something like 15-20 different dishes! It was an industrial sized operation to be sure! We haven’t done this in many, many years. My mum, as she moved on in years, found it too tiring, and I, to this day, find it absolutely too daunting. So, now it is just small gatherings of close friends and family. In those days in Singapore, it was almost impossible to find a Chinese caterer who was prepared to cater on the 2nd day of New Year. And if you could find one, the prices would be sky-high with the quality of food correspondingly a faint shadow of their normal standards. We tried it one year, and most of the food was left untouched by our guests. They wanted my mum’s cooking. But we were no longer prepared to spend 18 hours straight in the kitchen cutting, dicing, cooking, washing etc. Imagine us decked out in our new clothes, hair carefully coiffed but staying in the kitchen all day without a moment’s rest. We didn’t even get to mingle with the guests. They came, they ate and they left. In the end we decided it was a rather meaningless way to spend New Year.

7th Day
• This is also known as “humanity’s birthday”. Everyone turns a year older on this day.
• The Hokkiens have a tradition of cooking a dish made up of 7 different types of vegetables on this day.

9th Day
• I think this is the day the Hokkiens make offerings and pray to the “Sky God” or “Tien Gong”. Oh dear, I could be wrong on this. Have to check with Hokkien friends on this one.

15th Day
• Last day of the “official” New Year celebratory period. The family gathers for another family reunion dinner before everyone departs again back to their jobs etc…
• We eat dry tang yuan (known as “yuan xiao”) on this day.
• This is also known as Chinese Valentines day. In ancient times, this was the only day of the year that males and females were allowed to meet freely and select a prospective spouse. Another name for this day would be the “lantern festival” as in the olden days men and women would meet and play “solve the riddles” games with lanterns, and that’s how they pair up. Anyone know the real tradition of the lantern games?

Other general traditions:
• When visiting relatives and friends, one always bring and offer to the host a pair of Mandarin oranges. This symbolizes the giving of good fortune and blessings to your friends and relatives. Never offer odd numbers, and avoid offering four (which sounds like “to die” or “death”) oranges too.
• Married people are expected to give hong baos or lai sees to unmarried singles and to all children. (Haha… that’s why traditionally, couples would “rush” to have their first child soon after getting married so that when CNY rolls around, they won’t only be doing all the giving, but will also be “receiving” through their child).
• All inauspicious sayings, words and arguments are to be avoided. And if indeed something “inauspicious” happens, for example, like a plate or cup is dropped and broken, an auspicious saying is immediately uttered – eg “luo di kai hua”, meaning “fall to the ground and bloom as flowers”, and so the shattered plate and cup is used to symbolize a beautiful thing rather than an inauspicious event.

Oh boy! This has been a mega long post. I could go on and on, but I won’t. (Yes, I heard that sigh of relief) : ) After typing out all that, I'm all in the mood for CNY already! : D

I’m hoping to go down to the Chinatown Chinese New Year street market (which started on Saturday night) soon, to do some new year shopping… hopefully I will have some pictures to show too. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest markets yet – with almost 500 stalls. Yippee! I always really start feeling the CNY spirit when I head on down to this street market.

Yes, I complain about CNY being so close to Christmas and the Gregorian New Year this year. But hey, the goat wasn’t a very nice visitor this year. Created a right upheaval nation-wide and across the globe did he. (Actually, if truth be told, the goat has been good to me this year, no complaints from me). But I guess a lot of people are ready to welcome in the monkey. And yes, he is at the door already! Let’s roll out the red carpet…

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