Gong Xi Fa Cai

Last week was Chinese New Year here in Singapore and for all Chinese around the world. It’s the Lunar New Year for the Chinese and it was celebrated on Thursday, the 7th of February. The Chinese celebrate their new year for fifteen days. It’s a very special occasion, perhaps the most significant holiday celebrated throughout the year.

The most important night is the eve of Chinese New Year when the family cooks and has dinner together. It seems that fish and chicken are common dishes on the table. Also, a large bowl of salad is put on the table. The family takes the salad in chopsticks, all in one motion high in the air and drop it back in several times. This is apparently called "tossing the salad" and I am yet to find out the exact purpose of this tossing.

Next comes the visiting. The visiting goes on for the next fifteen days or so and priority is given to seniors. A very remarkable thing in their custom is the giving of hong bau during their visits. This is basically where married and elderly are expected to give money to other family members (mainly to children and people who are not married). Money is given in little red envelops. The amount depends on their social status or how much they earn. Four is considered a bad number relating to bad luck. The explanation I got for that is apparently because the number four sounds like death in Chinese (in cantonese or mandarin or hokkien i don't know). It is customary to give money in even numbers, as giving money in odd numbers is practiced during funerals. I was surprised to know that some kids the age of 16 or so get an average of about 1000 over dollars every New Year! Of course it depends on how big your family is. The bigger the family the better huh!

I couldn't help but relate Chinese New Year and our Muslim Eid. They are unbelievably similar in some ways. For example, the families cook and have dinner together much like when we Muslims cook for lunch on Eid. It’s an evening for everybody to get together. To be at the table on the eve of Chinese New Year is considered a must! I guess that explains why it was such hot news when China was hit by a snow storm last week. Imagine the chaos it would cause if there was a snow storm in Mecca during Hajj season!

The other thing that strikes me is the visiting. Muslims try to make it a point (atleast in our family) to visit their aunts and uncles on Eid and the next few days that follow. The Chinese seem to practice this custom too, only at a larger scale over a period of fifteen days. It is expected that everybody be in town for the lunar New Year, no matter where in the world you live.

Lastly, I noticed that the giving of money (hong bau) is also reflected in the Muslim tradition as well. Here, unlike the Chinese, I feel that the Muslims do it slightly differently. Our Zakat on Eid is distributed to the entire poor community. As for the Chinese, they practice it within their families.

What really fascinates me is the extent to which the Chinese take their celebrations. The priority they give to visiting their family, the strong belief that it would bring bad luck if they don't give money in little red packets, or see their grandparents at least once a year. I just wish that we Muslims were as passionate about our Eid as the Chinese are with their New Year.

Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone.