As the Lunar New Year is just three days away, I would like to share some of the popular Chinese Traditions.........
Lion Dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. The dance is traditionally accompanied by gongs, drums and firecrackers, representing the descent of good luck. Lion dance has gained fame internationally due to the influx of Chinese immigrants overseas. Lion dances are commonly performed in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore.
Red Packets are given out during the Chinese New Year celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is common for adults to distribute red packets to children. The red packets always contain money, usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundreds.
Mandarin Oranges are the most popular and most abundant fruit during Chinese New Year. Mandarin oranges are pronounced as "gan" in mandarin, which symbolizes happiness after going through hard times.
Nian Gao, or Chinese New Year's cake, is a type of food prepared from glutinous rice and consumed in Chinese cuisine. While it can be eaten all year round, it is traditionally most popular during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat Nian Gao during this time because Nian Gao can also mean "climbing higher and higher every year", symbolising an increment in income, jobs or growth among their children. Nian Gao was previously used for the purpose of worship before it gradually becomes a festive food.
Firecrackers, also known as fireworks, are commonly used in the celebration of holidays or festivals for more than 2,000 years. The lighting of firecrackers were originally meant to ward off evil spirits and attract the god of wealth to people's doorsteps. Nowadays, it is a common activity during traditional festivals, weddings, house moving and other joyous occasions.
Being Malaysians, we are indeed lucky as we all have the opportunity to not only celebrate the festivals of the other races & religions, but we also get to taste the different varieties of nice, tasty foods!! During this Chinese New Year for example, the other races loves buying as well as enjoying eating the Mandarin Oranges and also yesterday while I was shopping at The Spring supermarket, I saw a Malay lady and her daughter buying 'Nian Gao'. The most important and touching thing during the celebration of each festivals is that, all races comes together for visiting, despite their different ethnic groups, cultures, traditions and religions. This should be the real spirit of being 'A Multi Racial Country' - there shouldn't be any bridges between each other so that all Malaysians can live in peace and harmony!!
Lion Dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture, in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. The dance is traditionally accompanied by gongs, drums and firecrackers, representing the descent of good luck. Lion dance has gained fame internationally due to the influx of Chinese immigrants overseas. Lion dances are commonly performed in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore.
Red Packets are given out during the Chinese New Year celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is common for adults to distribute red packets to children. The red packets always contain money, usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundreds.
Mandarin Oranges are the most popular and most abundant fruit during Chinese New Year. Mandarin oranges are pronounced as "gan" in mandarin, which symbolizes happiness after going through hard times.
Nian Gao, or Chinese New Year's cake, is a type of food prepared from glutinous rice and consumed in Chinese cuisine. While it can be eaten all year round, it is traditionally most popular during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat Nian Gao during this time because Nian Gao can also mean "climbing higher and higher every year", symbolising an increment in income, jobs or growth among their children. Nian Gao was previously used for the purpose of worship before it gradually becomes a festive food.
Firecrackers, also known as fireworks, are commonly used in the celebration of holidays or festivals for more than 2,000 years. The lighting of firecrackers were originally meant to ward off evil spirits and attract the god of wealth to people's doorsteps. Nowadays, it is a common activity during traditional festivals, weddings, house moving and other joyous occasions.
Being Malaysians, we are indeed lucky as we all have the opportunity to not only celebrate the festivals of the other races & religions, but we also get to taste the different varieties of nice, tasty foods!! During this Chinese New Year for example, the other races loves buying as well as enjoying eating the Mandarin Oranges and also yesterday while I was shopping at The Spring supermarket, I saw a Malay lady and her daughter buying 'Nian Gao'. The most important and touching thing during the celebration of each festivals is that, all races comes together for visiting, despite their different ethnic groups, cultures, traditions and religions. This should be the real spirit of being 'A Multi Racial Country' - there shouldn't be any bridges between each other so that all Malaysians can live in peace and harmony!!
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