Happy Chinese New Year 2011 !

Jade Emperor's Birthday

At the stroke of midnight on Monday, February 22nd which is equivalent to the 9th Day of Lunar New Year was Jade Emperor's birthday. It was the day of 'Bai Tian Gong' where many Chinese Taoists, particularly those of Hokkien descent celebrated the occasion with much noise and plenty of offerings. In my area, this is a grand affair with many devotees burning lots of fireworks. It was a lot of fun looking at the sparkling display that lasts more than an hour as one after another family start to pray. Children have fun playing with fireworks while the adults are busy praying. Among the must-haves for the occassion include incense, joss-sticks, joss papers, buns, cakes, nuts, fruits, sugar cane, vegetarian dishes. Some even include a roasted whole pig, chicken, duck and red-dyed eggs. This is a family affair and after prayers, all members will join in to have a feast before they call it a day.

This is my entry for That's My World Tuesday. To view what others have in their world, please visit here.

Lichun The First Day of Spring

This week on 4th February 2010, we shall welcome Lichun, the first day of spring, ahead of the Lunar Chinese New Year which falls on 14th February 2010, also Valentine's Day.

The picture collage above has been composed of scanned images taken from red packets. These are some of the things we like to have or see during the festive season. In this entry of My World Tuesday, let me explain the meanings behind each picture.

Top row from left to right

1. The rectangular boxes is an example of a couplet we like to hang on both sides of main door to homes and offices. A couplet consists of 2 verses with auspicious sayings in poetry form. In the picture it says, "When spring arrives on Earth, prosperity and power is abundant."

2. The picture with "Fu" characters, is usually hung upside down when we decorate our homes and offices to denote prosperity that comes from heaven.

3. The "Chun" denotes spring. We like to display this character of any sayings that have this word to signify the coming of spring, a time of regeneration and growth.

Bottom row, from left to right

1. The words "Hua Kai Fu Gui" means 'When flower blooms, prosperity comes'. Beside the phrase is a pot of peonies, the Queen of Flowers in Chinese culture. The peony or mudan (牡丹) is the flower of riches and honour, romance and beauty. In Malaysia, we can't find read peonies, so we make do with silk flowers and put them in beautiful vases.

2. Cai Shen (財神) is the Chinese God of Prosperity. Just like Santa Claus who makes children happy during Christmas, Cai Shen is welcome by everyone, from young to old. We all want to welcome him to our homes. In Malaysia, you can see him on his rounds during promotions at shopping complexes and offices distributing red packets and sweets to kids and adults also like to receive gifts from him. Some people will touch him to 'get the wealth'.

3. A pot of citrus limes or tangerines with the words, "Tai kat tai lei" meaning 'abundance of wealth and prosperity'. We like to display them near our main door for wealth and prosperity.

Note: Please click on the links for further details.

This is my entry for That's My World Tuesday. To view what others have in their world, please visit here.

Maneki Neko The Lucky Cat

The Lunar Chinese New Year falls on February 14th, 2010 which is also Valentine's Day. With the Tiger taking over from the Zodiac Cow, what better way to welcome the new year than with this member of the same cat family, Maneki Neko, The Lucky Cat!

This lucky cat is holding a fan inscribed with a very special word. This word is a combination of 4 chinese words, 招財進寶 (zhao cai jin bao) with the following meanings:

Zhao - invite or beckon with one's hand
Cai - wealth
Jin - enter, move forward, progress
Bao - treasures, honour

In summary it means "Welcoming Wealth & Prosperity"

The cat is also wearing a jade pendant with 5 bats (longevity and prosperity symbol) as the motif. The jade is pendant is hung on a string of pearls. The platform is surrounded by many pots of yellow chrysanthemums which symbolises perfection, optimism and joy. This cat was photographed at the 1-Utama Shopping Complex. I notice many shoppers who passed by will stopover to stroke or touch its right hand. Many also took photographs and some even recorded videos.

As this cat with a sexy mole on its cheek is wearing a cheongsam and adorned with a flower on the head, do you think it is a He or She?

Maneki Neko is also known as the Lucky Cat or Wealth Welcoming Cat ( 招財貓, pinyin 招き猫). Other names include Beckoning Cat, Welcoming Cat, Money Cat, Fortune Cat. It is believed to bring good luck to the owner. It depicts a Japanese Bobtail Cat beckoning with an upright paw and is usually placed at entrances or the cashier's counter welcoming customers. A raised left paw is said to attract more customers while a right paw attracts wealth. Some are mechanically or battery powered with a continously moving paw.

This is my entry for That's My World Tuesday. To view what others have in their world, please visit here.

Monochrome Maniacs - Chinese Lanterns

These are Chinese lanterns used to decorate the roof of a stall selling Chinese cultural items in a shopping mall.

All the lanterns has the same identical painting.

Do you know what is being painted on the lantern?

This is my entry for Monochrome Weekend Volume 2 Issue 22. My grateful thanks to Aileni for hosting this wonderful site. For other MM posts around the world, please click here