Entry 5 : Dragon Year 2012

Photo credits: here

Happy Chinese New Year of the water dragon.

As every new year arrives the people bustle the shops to buy new clothes, shoes, food and fill the house with plenty of cheer and the colour of RED. To the Chinese, the colour red is symbolic to wealth and prosperity. Likewise that the GREEN colour is symbolic to the Malays. Many don't know the story of how RED became the official colour as there are so many variations.

(The one I know of is that a village was attacked by a monster every year and the villagers could not defeat it nor defend themselves. One day they were told that the monster feared loud sounds and the colour red and so the villagers donned themselves in red that night and made extremely loud sounds (like the cymbals in lion dances) and the monster fled in fear that there was a more menacing creature that could devour him; leaving the villagers in peace. Since then red became the official colour of peace, and prosperity.)*Note: There are other versions*

The thing with Chinese new year is that it is a tradition to celebrate it for 15 days in accordance to the Lunar calendar and had many pantangs.(taboos) On the eve of the new year the family must have a dinner gathering to celebrate and also on the fifteenth day to mark the end of the new year.

The Chinese come from a superstitious background and like to keep traditions intact. There are strict rules that have to be followed.I'm sure many are familiar with the never say the word "death" or "number 4" on the first day of CNY. Others include not touching a broom on the first day as it will sweep away all the good luck, not washing your hair on the first day as it will wash away luck, advised not to wear anything black as it symbolizes death, watching or referring to horror stories , etc.

Now, I'm quite skeptical of some of these taboos and tend to question a lot but I rarely get a satisfactory answer. I value tradition as one thing but I feel that it has to make sense other wise it's plain rubbish to me. First of all, why are we not allowed to touch or use a broom but are allowed to use a cloth to clean or wash? Won't we also wipe away the luck? Secondly -not washing your hair - I understand this but won't we have to bathe ourselves -would that not also wash away our luck? Sorry but I find these ironic.

I always question everything and that's because I believe that everything has an answer. When we were children, we've always been told not to question anything and follow the status quo. Why? What is there to hide? If the Chinese were considered "grand" with their history why the variations and contradictions of beliefs? For this trolling attitude I tend to be told off for asking these things but it's not because I ask too much. It's because I put the elders to shame that they themselves do not know the significance of some traditions that they blindly follow without fail. I particularly did not like this attitude and it's not the fault of theirs to do so, their own elders oppressed their children's upbringing and did not allow questioning.

This makes me quite grateful that we live in an era that makes some sense and allow for rights and opinions. It also depends on the mind set of the people should they accept or reject these traditions. Some traditions just beg to differ and I believe should be solved than just left to burn in the minds of those who follow them to heart.

So does anyone know if Chai Shen Ye really exists or is he just like Santa Clause, man made?
(Note: Chai Shen Ye is the god of Wealth and has become a popular term for those who are wealthy and also a nickname to parents by their children because they are their source of income.)

Well it depends if you believe in him or not, it's just like questioning a leprechaun and his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Speaking of which, the chinese new year is about visiting relatives and friends and also about the hong bao (红包) (red packets). Did you know that in the old days red packets did not contain money but a piece of paper giving advice and nice words from the elders as a fresh start to the new year!

[Other reads: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_773__2009-01-02.html
http://education2.uvic.ca/Faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/taboos.html]

I know I may pass off as a mean person who is strictly prejudiced at some point and speak my mind out especially about the whispers from the crowd, but I don't care. If you have an opinion speak it out rather than just sit back and talk amongst your silly little crowds with fear of being heard. We're given a life to think so think about it.