This is the Chinese Lunar New Year again! Generally, the celebrations start on the eve of the Lunar New Year and carry on till the 15th day or Chap Goh Mei. In Malaysia, we are given two days of public holidays. However, this year all Malaysians will enjoy a long weekend from February 10th to 12th. This incidentally coincides with the long school holidays. So, I believe many families will take time to go places as well.
We Malaysians are well known for our endless eating or feasting. We eat many times a day, enjoying a great variety of cuisine as a result of our diversity. We take every opportunity to feast – birthdays, promotions at work or simply during our get-togethers. We often throw out our diet plans and pamper ourselves with all kinds of sumptuous food many times in a year. And this year will definitely be no exception.
During the Lunar New Year, certain kinds of food are given priority as they each have their own significance. During the New Year’s Eve dinner, fish is on the menu as it signifies an increase in prosperity. Longevity noodles which is usually served at birthday celebrations are also a preferred item. This is to wish you all longevity and happiness. Some people also serve dumplings and spring rolls; both signifying wealth. Then there is the Niangao or a sweet rice cake. This is the wish for higher income or promotion in the year. Another colourful dessert is Tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls of many colours). This dessert brings to mind the importance of family togetherness. Last but not least, there is the exchange of Mandarin oranges or Kam, considered to be the good fortune fruit.
And over here in Malaysia and Singapore, loh sang and yee sang is very common these days. This dish is actually an Asian salad comprising vegetables of various colours – orange, red, green, white and purple. One of the ingredients in yee sang is raw fish. This zesty and flavourful salad is tossed high by all who are seated around the table, wishing one another wealth, health and happiness.
So, when you gather this year for various sessions of feasting, do take time to count your blessings, big or small. Wish one another Gong Xi Fa Cai, which literally translates means ‘wish you enlarge your wealth’. And I feel that wealth is more than Ringgit and Sen. We all need the wealth of wisdom, patience and understanding to be happy and make our world a better place for all.
So, to all of you Malaysians (Chinese, Malays, Indians, as well as all minority races), Gong Xi Fa Cai. Enjoy your holidays!
Mei Wong
Submit any #CNY2024-related content for a chance to win big grand prizes and participate in the lucky draw to win prizes worth up to RM10,888! T&C apply. Find out how you can participate here.
Mei Wong is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
