Sleepless in Singapore: Chinese New Year

On February 7th and 8th, there was the Chinese New Year which is a very big deal in Singapore. It is perhaps the equivalent of Christmas and Thanksgiving combined. The celebrations start 15 days prior to the new year and go on for 15 days after. It comes every year around February and it is derived from the Chinese calendar, which is based on the moon. This is the year of the Rat, which is known for its patience and adaptability. I suppose it symbolizes what this year is going to be like for most of us. At least for me, the prediction has been fairly accurate because I have been adapting to this new atmosphere, people, culture and traditions. It has been great so far, but I think my initial euphoric state has plateaued off nicely.

We were planning to go to Bintan, which is an island in Indonesia very close to Singapore. However, due to the CNY, everything was booked and we couldn't go anywhere. Perhaps it was for the best because we got to experience the New Year in Singapore. We went to Chinatown and it was probably just like China! There were people everywhere and the shopkeepers were screaming one thing or another to attract potential customers. It was good because it was my first experience here in Singapore (I've seen plenty of these 'markets' in India), but after a while, it got exhausting because things were very chaotic in general. However, at the same time, people were pretty understanding and walked around in an orderly manner; Just the sheer number of people made it extremely bustling.

We couldn't get the tickets so we went to a beach called East Coast park. All the sand was apparently imported from Indonesia and it was completely man made. It was filled with Malays and other coloured/non-chinese asians and it was good.. I've never really been to a beach before (except Chennai once when I was very young), and this was my first experience with salt water. It was a weird experience because I could walk for about 100 meters into the water and the water was still shallow; there were no currents as such or waves. But overall, it was a different experience.

We were going to go to Sentosa Island in Singapore, but that was extremely crowded. The line stretched about 200 meteres for everything (buying the ticket, then getting on the cable car/bus/ferry), so we decided not to go and went to Mt. Faber instead. It was ok; just a hill with trees all around. Granted that kind of thing is hard to come across where I live, but it was just another nature hike and we were in no mood to spend all that energy walking.. so we walked for a bit and then just rested..

Back to Chinese New Year: On the new year's eve, a whole troupe of exchange students went to Chinatown and we ate dinner. I had something called a carrot cake. I presumed it was going to be sweet but it was like radish, gelatin and egg all mixed together. It was really good- probably one of the best things I've had here in Singapore. Then we went to see the CNY parade. It was crowded with a HUGE mass of tourists and the like. We couldn't see much of the parade/show, so decided to go eat some more! We got some snacks and then a couple of us headed to 'The Esplanade', which is the arts and culture centre of Singapore, for CNY fireworks. It was a mission getting there with all the confusion and the splitting and rejoining of various groups. We were 7 at one point, then 4, then 11, then 5.. But eventually we all ended up at the same point and we saw the Chinese New Year Fireworks at midnight. It was over the water and we could see the Singapore Skyline in the background. It was awesome.

Since Chinese New Year celebrations go on for 15 days after the day, I also did many other CNY related things. I have this host family, which is a family that has volunteered to show a couple exchange students around Singapore and let them experience what it is like the be a local Singaporean. My host family decided to take us to a street market which was going on for the Chinese New Year. The family, like most Asian families, was extremely nice and accommodating. It was the husband and wife, and two sons. The husband works in the NUS mechanical engineering department and he has been involved with this program for over 10 years. He says he would be involved in it until his kids reach our age. The family was like any Asian family: very together, caring and supportive of one another. When one goes to these exhibition, it is always the case (atleast in an Indian family), that the kids get attracted to soo many things around and they want to get it. The father, usually being very sensible with his money refuses. This was precisely what happened in this family, and it was great to see it in another culture. That's when I realized that Singapore is not a Utopia. The middle class families are dissatisfied with their financial situation and are unable to buy all the things that they want. This is also when I realized the great difference between Asia and North America. The parents are in general much more restrictive with their kids and usually keep them in control. The kids are also very understanding and they know the reasons why they were refused the clay action figure that they wanted to get. In North America, with the whole 'independence and free' movement and such, kids are allowed to do anything they want and they learn through the consequences of their own actions. In a general sense, there is very less 'inherited knowledge' or 'passed down wisdom' among generations. Every generation is on its own and the people learn from their own experience. Asia is different in that sense.

The family showed us around and told us about Chinese New Year and the different traditions. Since I was born in the year of the dragon, they were telling me all the great things about me! Apparently the Dragon is the best animal to be especially if you are a guy. Therefore, during the year of the dragon, the birth rate in Asia increases by a lot! Anyway, they had things written for what this year is going to be like for me and it was not very optimistic. Financial burden, etc etc. But this was also a liberal family in many respects in that they did not believe in all these traditions. They believed in hard work as most Singaporeans do. Another thing I found surprising about them was that they were pure vegetarians! There is a popular expressions that the Chinese eat everything, but this family did not believe in killing and therefore chose to be vegetarian. I, for one, would love to eat Chinese vegetarian meals. I tried it at a Buddhist temple tour and it was indeed delicious. The meat was substituted with tofu. The family gave me a cup, which was indeed very nice of them and the visit gave us a very warm feeling.

There is this one CNY tradition that is very interesting. Before dinner, there is this dish that is made of raw vegetables, fish, sauces, etc (as you can see in the picture). Everyone gets chopsticks and all together, they start grabbing it and holding it very high. All along, they are all screaming their heads off as to what they aspire for the coming year. It is a very fun tradtion and I loved doing it. Infact, I think I did it about 3 or 4 times. First time was in a CNY dinner organized in NUS for students. Second was in my hall, where the supper was organized. So hopefully, I should get a couple of my wishes satisfied! I heard things like "I want to be in honours", or "I want to get a 90", etc. which indicates how ambitious and focused the people here are..

I was also invited to a house for Chinese new year dinner and this was on my birthday. I will write about it in my next post, which will be on my Birthday! Overall, Chinese New Year is a time of family, togetherness and tradition. They do not have a new years countdown, but it is a week long celebration of what they have and what they aspire to have in the coming year.