Chinese New Year: Gong Xi Fa Cai!


Who says pink clashes with red and orange? These are the decorations at our local giant mall, and I like them! In fact, I’m trying to design a house in which I’d have light fixtures like this in every room.

Chinese New Year is a 15-day period in which you stage many family reunions and feasts, in a particular order: visit the husband’s parents on the first day, wife’s parents on the second, and grandparents, uncles and aunts in descending birth order.  But in Singapore it’s a public holiday of just two days (the indians and malays man the transit systems and other vital functions while the chinese majority celebrates).  This is in keeping with the practice of fairness in allotting public hoidays to each major religion: Christians get Christmas and Good Friday; Hindus get Deepavali and Vesak Day (although since Vesak celebrates the birth of the Buddha you can argue that it’s really a chinese thing, but that first Buddha was Indian, so I guess it’s fair enough); Eid-ul-Fitre and Hari Raya Haj to the muslims.  Other public holidays are New Year’s Day and National Day.

Anyway we’re enjoying lazing around, so happy Lunar New Year, everyone. Prosperity, health and happiness to all!

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