Chinese drum performance during a charity event at Dewan Utama Desasiswa, Universiti Sains Malaysia. — Photos: CHAN BOON KAI, LIM BENG TATT, ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
THE richness of traditions and customs in the Chinese culture is most evident during Lunar New Year celebrations.
Most Chinese still diligently follow ancient practices to usher in good tidings for the year.
Among them is offering prayers to deities and ancestors.
Be it the burning of joss sticks, incense or simply clasping hands together in seeking blessings or good luck.
Penang Hong Guan Cultural Association group leader Law Choon Lim preparing his dragon at Kuantan Road.
Families rooted to tradition may even lay out extensive offerings, with items chosen due to their symbolic significance, such as thnee kuih (sweet sticky rice cakes), or nian gao in Mandarin – a homonym for “yearly growth”.
When visiting friends and relatives, kuih kapit is a must-have snack.
Also known as love letters due to the patterns imprinted by moulds, these are labourious to make but quick to disappear.
Equally requisite is the tossing of yee sang. Though having roots in China, the dish known here today is a Malaysian invention.
Kuih Kapit maker Thor Lay See, 45, showing off the finished product while her husband Tan Eng Hin, 55, and son Chun Jie, 20, makes the delicacy at her home in Kampung Jalan Baru in Balik Pulau, Penang.
An enterprising Cantonese catering company owner was said to have introduced it in the 1940s to boost sales.
Originally, the dish was mixed by waiters. But often during the festive rush, diners could not wait and mixed it themselves.
And on one occasion, someone uttered auspicious phrases and inadvertently created the tossing ritual that many enjoy partaking in today.
The week before Chinese New Year is spent buying new clothes and booking various appointments to look their best.
Many consider it unlucky to cut anything during the celebration as it equates to cutting away one’s wealth – so haircuts, manicures and pedicures are all done in advance.
Korean teachers and exchange programme students tossing yee sang during a Chinese New Year celebration at SJK(C) Poay Wah.
It is the perfect time to snap photos and immortalise memories with various temples in Penang sporting beautiful decorations.
With this being the Year of the Dragon, dragon dances are a key feature at events.
Typically seen chasing a pearl, the story is emblematic of the Chinese desire to seek better things.
