All About Chinese New Year in Malaysia: Series 1

Hello my dear readers! How was your weekend?
Finally, I moved out of New York City (busy city) and settle down in Iowa (small quiet town). It was a truly crazy, busy weekend for my husband and I. We were busy packing and hanging out with friends and family over the weekend. Despite how crazy the schedule was, we have to admit that all gatherings were great, we had a lot of fun and quality time with everyone we love! We sincerely thank you everyone for joining us throughout the weekend. We will miss you!

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Alright, that is all about our weekend plan. As promised, we will be all in Chinese New Year festive mood this week. It is just five days away from reunion dinner (团圆饭) and six days away from the first day of the lunar calendar year which falls on this coming Sunday (大年初一). I was home for Chinese New Year last year, I just cannot believe it has been a year! I miss home so much.

To kick start our Chinese New Year (CNY) week, I would like everyone (especially non-Malaysian readers) to get an idea of what festival CNY is...(The following information was originally posted on allmalaysia.info)

Its origin can be traced back thousands of years to the legend which tells of a fearsome mythological creature known as Nian that is said to have once terrorized China, devouring people on the eve of CNY. To ward off the beast, red couplets were pasted on doors, firecrackers were set off throughout the night, and huge fires were lit.

Today, the prevalence of red color and firecrackers form part of the CNY celebrations throughout the world, as a part of custom and tradition.

CNY marked the beginning of spring in China, begins on the first day of the lunar calendar year, the first day of the new moon, and ends on the 15th day, known as Chap Goh Meh, the last day of the full moon.

Preparations tend to begin a month prior to the New Year. During this period, people start buying new clothes, decorations and foodstuff; houses are cleaned, then decorated with red lanterns, banners, plastic/paper firecrackers, panels inscribed with calligraphic characters bearing themes of happiness, wealth and longevity, and greeting cards received from other family members and friends.

From tomorrow onwards, we will have more blog posts about Chinese clothing, decor, food, other festivals related to CNY, and some common taboos and tradition practice during CNY.

to lack of sleeping time over the weekend, I am signing off now. Happy Monday everyone!