15 days of Chinese New Year celebrations

The Chinese New Year represents the beginning of a new year in the lunar calendar.

It is celebrated by the Tiong Hua community for 15 days full of meaningful customs and traditions.

The most important event is the festive dinner with the whole family which is obligatory to strengthen the family relationships.

Good Feng Shui founder, Kenny Hoo says that it is tradition that the family stays up together after dinner to bring in the new year.

“All the family members, especially the children will gather at home and talk and eat and make steamboat and this will bring them closer

“The real meaning of ‘shou shui’ is to wish for more luck and longevity for your parents,” says Kenny.

The first day of Chinese New Year is for visiting family and relatives.

Those who are married will give angpau to the children and those who haven’t tied the knot yet.

The second day is when daughters who are married will visit their parents.

“ If a daughter who is married visits her home on the first day, she will bring bad luck to the the family. The Chinese community usually doesn’t like it when their married daughters visit on the first day. The second day they can return to their parents home,” Kenny adds.

Meanwhile, Chinese also believe it is bad luck to visit relatives on the third day as it will invite disagreements.

According to Kenny, the Tiong Hua community will usually rest at home on the third day.

“There is a belief that the third day of the new year is a day of conflict, and this could be due to the last two hectic days after the new years have made people tired and easily agitated,” he said.

“ Chinese people on the first and second day will not sleep in but wake up early because they believe that if you wake up late your health will be affected the rest of the year.

“On the third day however, you can sleep in, the later the better,” he said.

On the fourth, fifth and sixth day, the Chinese community will visit their close friends.

The seventh day, known as the day of human creation, is celebrated with yee sang.

The ingredients of this delicious dish is tossed in the air and well wishes are exclaimed such as wealth and prosperity.

The last day of the Chinese New Year is “chap goh mei”, celebrated on the fifteenth and is alos regarded as the Chinese velentines day.

The most popular tradition of Chap Goh Mei are the prayers and the tossing of mandarins into the river or sea in the hopes to find a partner for life.