Lunar New Year is the most important celebration of all traditional Chinese holidays. Though it usually occurs during winter season, in China it is known as Spring Festival. The festival commences on the first day of the first month in any traditional Chinese calendar and this year, the year of the rabbit, it is celebrated on the 3rd of February and ends with a Lantern Festival on the 15th day.
The biggest event of any Lunar New Year celebration is the reunion dinner - a meal comparable to Christmas dinner in the west. This is usually done on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Chinese people all over Singapore gather together for an annual family reunion dinner, which marks the start of a period of feasting. Some families celebrate it in a restaurant (expect every Chinese restaurant to be fully booked) while others just enjoy it at the comfort of their parents' home. It's a joyous occasion where sumptuous food are usually served and the most common fare is the steamboat or hot pot buffet. The video below will show you exactly what to expect when eating steamboat buffet.The rules of engagement for this get-together-meal are actually simple: Members of the family are to sit around the dining table. A cooking pot filled with simmering broth is made ready at the center of the table along with the various hot pot dishes including thinly sliced pork or shabu shabu, sukiyaki beef, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, prawns, fish balls, scallops, dumplings and thin slices of fish. Then each guest routinely immerse every ingredient into the hot simmering broth and in less than one minute, it's good to go. The cooked dish is usually eaten with a dipping sauce.
On the actual day of the Lunar New Year is where the visitations to kin, relatives and friends begin, a traditional practice also known as 'new year visits'. New clothes are usually worn to signify new year. The color red is liberally used in all decorations and as a predominant color for this celebration. Red is the emblem of joy and this color symbolizes virtue, truth and sincerity. When visiting houses, a pair of Mandarin oranges are brought along as a token of good fortune. It is important that you greet your hosts 'Gong Xi Fa Cai', a traditional greeting during this occasion which means to wish the hosts prosperity and good fortune. The elder host of the house would normally give 'hongbao', a red packet containing a generous amount of money, not surprisingly kids cup of tea during Lunar New Year celebrations. Visitors are then to sit around the living area where they can find various tidbits to enjoy while the host served them drinks. After enjoying a moment of chat and savoring every tidbit there is on the table, the visitation continues to the next relative house where the same routine will be followed.
The Lunar New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar calendar. It usually lasts for 15 days. So in between these days, the whole Chinese community are really in the mood for festivities. Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the New Year. Others gather together for a dinner which is followed by Yu Sheng or Lou Hei afterwards. Yu Sheng which literally means "raw fish", consists of raw salmon mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Since fish is commonly associated with abundance, Yu Sheng is then interpreted as an increase in abundance as well as prosperity and vigor.
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| A sample of Yu Sheng |
Xin nian kuai le新年快乐!
