Chinese New Year Celebrations Started With A Blast

With a deafening noise when 128 strands of firecrackers were fired off and a crowd pleasing, 3 minute, firework the celebrations for Chinese New Year officially started Saturday night.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, Dr. Lily Neo, MP for Jalan Besar GRC and many other guests were delighted by the different, exciting performances.

Thousands of Singaporeans and tourists followed the 2 hour long spectacle on Eu Teng Son Street. The lanes in Chinatown were more than crowded and the human traffic came to a near breakdown once in a while.

However the mood seemed to be good despite the current economic situation and the uncertain outlook. People are putting their "hope (and happiness)", which is also the celebration theme, in the upcoming lunar new year, the year of the Ox.

A lot of hope is what people need because the last three Ox years (1973, 1985 and 1997) were dreadful for stock markets. The bulls kind of stayed away from the stock markets whenever their year appeared once every 12 years.

With economies around the world still suffering from the horrible 2008, the coming Year of the Ox seems to be under the same depressing constellation for the stock markets as the last three Ox years.

The 588 street stalls are also hoping for a good enough mood of the visitors to buy and not only "window shop". One category of business did already quite well on the opening night: The food stalls! Eating, Singaporeans favorite pastime didn't show a slow down at all since there were long queues at almost every food stall in Chinatown.

A traditional Chinese New Year cake.

Erich's Wuerstelstand was no exemption. It looked like everyone wanted to buy sausages and bread from the "crazy" ang moh who changes his looks according to the season and after Santa is now a "Chinaman".

Erich always smiling despite the stressful weeks ahead.
"Chilly, Mustard, Ketchup?"
" Ta pao or eat here?"
Eu Tong Sen Street

If you want to learn more about the ox year, keep it here and check out the next posts.

Time is flying

We are just done with Christmas celebrations and since last week busy workers are have been setting up lights and decorations for Chinese New Year festivities.
The offcial "Light up" will already be on Jan. 3rd and the closing act wil be on February 15. The actual Chinese New Year is January 26 + 27.

So we say good buy to Xmas and winter 2008 and welcome 2009 and with the first new moon the year of the OX

Year 4706 is about to start: The Year of Rat

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 is a Year of the Rat (Earth). The Chinese year 4706 begins on Feb. 7, 2008 and ends on January 25, 2009. First in the cycle of 12 Animal signs, Rat Year begins the sequence and recurs every twelfth year.
It is a time of renewal in so many ways. From New Year to Valentine's Day, to the arrival of spring, may all the blessings and delights of the New Year be yours.
People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. In Chinese, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They have broad interests and strong ability in adapting to the environment and able to react adequately to any changes. Basically rats are thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare, and Mozart were all born in the year of the rat.
Of course, the entire horoscope must be considered when making any personality assessment.

A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find.

About the lunar New Year

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

CNY is a time for family reunions, the lion dance, firecrackers, mahjong, mandarin oranges and giving/collecting ang pow.It highlights some of the most fascinating aspects of Chinese tradition and rituals.
Its origin can be traced back thousands of years, to the legend which tells of a fearsome mythological creature known as Nian that is said to have once terrorised China, devouring people on the eve of CNY. To ward off the beast, red-paper couplets were pasted on doors, firecrackers were set off throughout the night, and huge fires were lit.
Today, the prevalence of the colour red, and firecrackers, form part of the CNY celebrations throughout the world, as a part of custom and tradition.