Celebrating Chinese New Year

By Malu Fernandez

KUng Hei Fat Choy! It?s that time of the year again when we celebrate Chinese New Year, which according to the Gregorian calendar is today, Jan. 26! So it?s time to grab those ampao envelopes or what they call Lai See packets, which are red envelopes, stuff them with crisp new bills and hand them out to relatives, friends, and co-workers. Make sure it adheres to the number 8 and is an even amount of money otherwise it will be unlucky for the recipient. This is also the time when we adhere to the Chinese traditions and customs and making them our own. Welcoming the Chinese New Year is certainly more interesting than the traditional western New Year. Perhaps I am biased because I belong to an Asian culture which is highly influenced by Chinese traditions and practices. But based on my observations, I don?t think I am.

At the beginning of each year, most of us check our horoscopes online, write down New Year?s resolutions and make a to-do list for the year, seek out our favorite fortune teller and listen to whatever predictions he or she may have for us for the upcoming year. But when Chinese New Year comes around, everybody goes haywire from scheduling an appointment with your favorite feng shui geomancer or going the do-it-yourself route by going to your favorite stall in Binondo to buy feng shui items to arm your home and office against bad vibes. Not only do we follow feng shui practices, we follow the Chinese beliefs in wearing appropriate clothing to welcome the New Year such as polka dots, we follow the Chinese traditional menu for the evening, long noodles for long life; oranges for wealth and prosperity and whatever else may bring an abundance of luck. The tradition of giving away tikoy during the New Year is also something that most people here follow together. Personally I don?t get it, but it?s yummy so hey it?s a win-win situation.

Even comparing the western way of divining our horoscopes against the Chinese horoscope, the western way is very much attached to the myths and legends of the Greek pantheon of gods and numerous allusions to astrological references. There are precise scientific calculations based on each of the planets? positions which may affect our behavior depending on our birth date. Whether Mercury is in retrograde or Jupiter is the dominant planet for the time being, it is all believed to affect the coming events in our lives and our behavior for the duration of the planet?s position.

On the other hand, the Chinese horoscopes are based on the 12 animals who visited Buddha and each one of us have attributes associated with an animal based on our specific birth year. The Chinese horoscope and feng shui teachings are also all related to different Chinese deities belonging to the Chinese pantheon of gods and goddesses. Between the Chinese and western horoscopes, somehow the Chinese horoscopes are more fun because they have so much drama attached to the basis of the predictions, it all revolves around the legendary Buddha and the 12 visiting animals so that makes it more fun to listen to rather than the precise positioning of the planet.

Chinese New Year is also significant in the kitchen, where certain foods that are served signify good luck, long life and prosperity and wealth. For instance, in noodle dishes, the strands of the noodles signify long life, so much so that the cutting of the noodles is considered a no-no, otherwise you?re snipping away the thread of your life. Hence the noodle slurping! (Threads of fate being woven... in Mt. Olympus sound familiar? The threads against yummy noodles, hmmm...) A whole steamed chicken is said to represent good health. A whole steamed fish is served for abundance. Crispy egg rolls or lumpia, fried to a golden brown, are said to symbolize long gold bars. Hand-made dim sum, or shu mai, are made to look like ancient Chinese gold ingots. For luck, display plenty of tangerines, oranges, and various round citrus fruits preferably big fat ones with leaves still attached. A major no-no would be to serve squid; it could mean losing your job. So I guess no calamares for appetizers, huh?

To sum it all up, being in Asia we obviously adhere to the Chinese traditions whether we are of Chinese descent or not. The Chinese traditions and cultural influences have happily meshed with our Pinoy and western traditions thus giving us our very own ?Chinoy? traditions. Whatever it is I say a billion Chinese people can?t be wrong!