Deepavali

Deepavali

Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is celebrated in different parts of the world with great enthusiasm and vigour. It is regarded as a festival of lights, colour and firecrackers. Singapore is also no exception. People of all ages indulge themselves in lots of fun and entertainment during this time of the year. They clean and decorate their houses, do some wonderful shopping for themselves and their near and dear ones, exchange sweets and gifts with relatives and friends, burst different types of firecrackers on Diwali night, and light their houses with diyas and candles to mark the occasion. Deepavali is celebrated to mark the victory of good over the evil forces. Like other festivals, Diwali too has its own traditions.
Traditions of Deepavali Festival

There are several traditions associated with Diwali celebrations. One of the major traditions includes lighting the entire house and the place of worship of Goddess Lakshmi with colourful candles and diyas which are available in different shapes and sizes. Apart from this, playing cards is one of the other traditions of Deepavali.

Christmas

Christmas is celebrated on 25th December all over the world. Christmas is the day of abundant joy, happiness and cheer. so, it can also be said that the festive season of Christmas is a time for having loads of fun and celebration.

Christmas is a universal occasion but the traditions of this occasion vary from one country to another. For instance, Singapore's Christmas traditions are a bit different from the Christmas traditions of other countries. Christmas traditions of Singapore have its own variations as per culture and customs of this island city.

Luke's experience

Every Christmas, Luke goes to malaysia to visit his cousins and relatives. On the morning of Christmas, Luke goes to church to pray. After going to the church, his whole family goes to his grandfather's house to practise dance moves. At night, everybody including Luke's cousins and relatives go to their great-grandmother's house to sing 'Christmas Carol' and perform. After that, they will receive the Christmas presents. Then, they will proceed to have a great feast after which, they will play games.

Hari Raya

We celebrate Hari Raya by decorating the house and buying snacks like Kuih Lapis, Pineapple Tart and ketupat. We also fast during Hari Raya Puasa. When we fast, we only eat at early morning and early night. During Hari Raya Aidilfitri, we beg for forgiveness from our parents in the early morning. After that, we go to our relative's houses and beg for forgiveness too.
The traditions of Hari Raya is to beg for forgiveness from our parents and relatives.

Spring Festival

Chinese New Year is the most important festivity for the Chinese people. It is also called the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year.Every year has an animal’s name. These animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. A Chinese legend says that these twelve animals had a race. The first year was named after the rat, the winner. The other eleven years were named after the order in which the animals arrived in the race. The clever rat jumped onto the ox’s back then at the end jumped over the ox’s head to arrive first!The Chinese believe that a person born in a particular year has some of the characteristics of animal.On Chinese New Year’s Eve all family members enjoy a big, delicious meal. It is very important for the Chinese to be with their families on this occasion. Fish is always part of the dinner because it represents abundance.On New Year’s Day all Chinese children wear new clothes with bright colors. Red is considered a lucky color. Parents and relatives give children the traditional New Year’s gift called lucky money. This money is put into bright red and gold envelopes. Fill under the pillow. in the morning of new year , the kid wakes up to see the “lucky money”, express that oneself become one year older. Red is a traditional color for festivals, celebrations, weddings and birthdays. The lion dancers are always part of the festivities. The lion has a big head and long body made of cloth. The lion dance is accompanied by drums, cymbals and noisy firecrackers. According to ancient traditions the great noise frightens away evil spirits.The dragon is the most important figure of the Chinese New Year festivities and parades. The dragon is considered a lucky figure. A parade dragon can be 20 to 30 meters long! Sixty or more men move under a long cloth that represents the dragon’s tail.During the parade children represent the animals of the Chinese calendar. There are also acrobats and musicians in beautiful costumes.

Get To Know Our Members

This are the contributers in our group:

Hyzraul(Leader)

Luke(Manager)

Hong Fei(Researcher)

Lynn(Secertry)

I hope you have recognised our contributers! Thank you!

History of Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year history is rich and diverse. This year the Chinese New Year is on February 14th.The Chinese New Year is very similar to the Western one, wrapped in traditions and rituals. The history of the Chinese New Year is so old that its origins are lost in the mists of time. It is popularly recognized as the Spring Festival and celebrations last 15 days. It is said that in ancient times, the feudal rulers placed great importance on Chinese New Year celebrations and organized grand ceremonies to mark this event.Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year as people start buying presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. A huge clean-up gets underway days before the New Year, when Chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and windowpanes are given a new coat of paint, usually red. The doors and windows are then decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on them.In the history it's mentioned that Chinese peasants eagerly wait for this day because it is on this day that the kitchen God is supposed to depart away to the lord of heaven (known as to the Jade Emperor) to report about the family. During his absence-that is, the period in which He leaves the kitchen only to return in the New Year -the family members clean up the house and make a fresh start to welcome the God as well as the new promising year.Historically speaking, the Chinese New Year Day has practically been regarded as the only day of the year when China's hard-working peasants allowed themselves to rest.The eve of the Chinese New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event in the history of time, as anticipation creeps in. Here, traditions and rituals are very carefully observed in everything from food to clothing. Dinner is usually a feast of seafood and dumplings, signifying different good wishes. Delicacies include prawns, for liveliness and happiness, dried oysters (or ho xi), for all things good, raw fish salad or yu sheng to bring good luck and prosperity.

The 15-Day Celebration of Chinese New Year

The first day of the Lunar New Year is "the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth."Many people abstain from meat on the first day of the new year because it is believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them.
On the second day, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.
The third and fourth days are for the sons-in-laws to pay respect to their parents-in-law.
The fifth day is called Po Woo. On that day people stay home to welcome the God of Wealth. No one visits families and friends on the fifth day because it will bring both parties bad luck.
On the sixth to the 10th day, the Chinese visit their relatives and friends freely. They also visit the temples to pray for good fortune and health.
The seventh day of the New Year is the day for farmers to display their produce. These farmers make a drink from seven types of vegetables to celebrate the occasion. The seventh day is also considered the birthday of human beings. Noodles are eaten to promote longevity and raw fish for success
On the eighth day the Fujian people have another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they pray to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven.
The ninth day is to make offerings to the Jade Emperor.
The 10th through the 12th are days that friends and relatives should be invited for dinner. After so much rich food, on the 13th day you should have simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) to cleanse the system.
The 14th day should be for preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival which is to be held on the 15th night.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.
The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

Chinese New Year Celebration

Chinese people start celebrating Chinese New Year after they have finished cleaning and decorating their houses. After that, younger chinese people visits elderly chinese people to receive hong baos and if the chinese people drop something and breaks it, they must not sweep it away as it may sweep away good spirits as well.

During Chinese New Year , many shops will be closed as they want to celebrate it. Most of the other shops will usually give discounts to all their items in their shops.