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| Lion Dancers |
Soak up the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year as
Singapore comes alive with colourful celebrations until 11th March. Welcome the Year of the Water Snake with
hanging lanterns, traditional music, night stalls and delicious food, as this
eagerly anticipated festival is celebrated by Singaporeans from all walks of
life.
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| Chinatown |
Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, is
the biggest and most significant event in Singapore and its importance and
celebration is similar to that of Christmas in Australia. A key part of Chinese New Year is sharing it
with visitors and friends. Start your
celebrations by exploring the wonderland of Chinatown as it prepares to meet
the New Year. Be enthralled by the 108
metre long snake sculpture made up of 5,000 red cube lanterns near Chinatown
Point as part of the Chinese New Year Light-Up, or head to South Bridge Road to
see the other snake made from 850 sky lanterns.
Plus, there's another 88 lanterns featuring the 12 animals of the
Chinese Zodiac along the key Chinatown thoroughfares of Eu Tong Street and New
Bridge Road.
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| Lion Dancers |
After Chinatown, head down to the River Hongbao on Marina
Bay to maximise your good luck! River
Hongbao is an annual event steeped in Chinese culture and tradition, and takes
its name from the small red money packets which are given to children during
Chinese New Year. Don't miss the Marina
Bay Floating platform and the Esplanade Waterfront Promenade in mid-February as
it explodes with the throbbing beat of lively street performances, shopping,
games stalls, lanterns and fireworks.
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| Lanterns |
Chingay is a colourful and exciting street parade - and
another centrepiece of Chinese New Year Festivities. Held on February 22nd and 23rd, Chingay is a
traditional Chinese procession that has evolved to a carnival-like street
parade. Think incredible floats, daring
fire eaters, amazing acrobats and delightful dancers. It's a celebration not to be missed!
With so many celebratory events associated with Chinese
New Year, February is the perfect time to Get Lost and discover more about
Singapore's culture and heritage! Why
not start the journey now with the following Top 5 Facts:
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| Performer |
1. Chinese New
Year is a two day public holiday where everyone visits their family and
friends. Visits are made in order of
importance and respect. Family visits
are made on the first day, starting with the oldest family members. Any visits to friends are usually made on the
second day.
2. When
visiting friends and family during Chinese New Year, always wear red, pink,
gold or bright colours. Red is
associated with joy, good luck, wealth and good fortune. Black is avoided during the celebration
period as it is seen to symbolise bad luck and even death.
3. It is
customary to present two mandarins to the host when visiting someone's
home. This signifies good luck and good
fortune. When guests depart, the host
will give two mandarins in return so that guests have not given away all of
their own luck.
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| Yusheng |
4. Yusheng is
a fish salad (usually salmon) that is only eaten at Chinese New Year, and all
its ingredients have specific meaning in relation to wishes for the year ahead
. For example, the oil is to smooth the
path ahead, golden chips represent wealth which is hoped will come your way,
and plum sauce signifies the sweetness to fill your life. At the table everyone tosses the salad
together to mix the ingredients while saying wishes to bring good luck for the
year, usually for an abundance of wealth and a long life! The act of tossing is called "lo
hei" and the tossing symbolises the wish for good fortune to come down on
you. It is believed that the higher you
toss the salad, the greater your fortunes will be.
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| Firecrackers |
5. In
preparation for the New Year, everyone cleans their house including sweeping
floors. On the first day of Chinese New
Year however, be sure not to sweep your floor, as it is said that this will
sweep away your good luck for the whole year ahead!
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