CHINESE FESTIVALS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese New Year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
myMalaysiabooks brings you Chinese festivals of Malaysia and Singapore. ON THIS PAGE Chinese Year CALENDARS MALAYSIA SINGAPORE
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 Chap Goh Meh (in the Hokkien dialect) is the last day of the Chinese Spring festival or New Year celebrations or 15th day of the Chinese lunar calendar. Chinese normally celebrate by having a grand dinner and Buddhists and Taoist Chinese mark the day with offerings and prayers. In the old, single girls will throw tangerines into the sea - a belief that that will bring them a good spouse...... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Festival of the Heavenly God or Jade Emperor (9th day of the Chinese lunar calendar) This festival starts on the early morning of the 9th day of the Chinese lunar calendar (after midnight of the 8th day). It is the most important spring festival for the Hokkiens (mainly descendents from Fujian province, China), a celebration which is celebrated widely by the Buddhist and Taoists Chinese in Malaysia. The celebration marks the birthday of the Jade Emperor or Guardian or Heavenly God, who lives in the centre of the universe. The most important offering for the Hokkien clan/ community is 'kam chia' or suger cane. (Read story below) In Penang, this festival is celebrated with in a grand scale, and can be observed at the Clan Jetties, near the ferry terminal (see map of George Town). The height of celebration starts near midnight on the 8th day of the Chinese lunar calendar. Prayers and offering are made to the god in front of the homes of many Chinese in the country (Photo: typical offerings to in homes). Houses are usually brightly lit on this night. There is usually fireworks on a feast after the prayers.  Story of the Hokkien clan and prominance of the sugar can plant: During the Song Dynasty (Mongol dynasty) most of the clans in Southern China (Fujian, Henan, Zhejiang) were heavily repressed and lived under great fear of the Mongols. The Hokkien clan were constantly at the mercy of the Mongols who attacked and hunted them, because the Hokkiens are seen a threat to the empire. The Hokkiens then fled to the Henan province where sugarcane plantations were in abundance. Though many wre killed by the pursuing Mongols, a group of Hokkiens managed to hide themselves among the sugarcane plants. The pursuing Mongols searched the area for days but never located the remaining Hokkiens. The Mongols eventually gave up and returned to their base. On the ninth day of the Chinese Calendar, the Hokkiens happily emerged from their hideout praising the celestial deities for saving them and believed that the Heavenly God had protected them. Thus, from then on, in all Hokkien celebrations, the sugarcane plant is given special prominence. That is why the Ninth day is regarded as the day of salvation by the Hokkien community. As offering to the Heavenly God, a pair of sugarcane plants is usually placed, one on each side of the offering table. The pair symbolises unity, cooperation and strength. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Dongzhì Festival /Tang Chek Festival or Winter Solstice Festival 冬至  This festival originated from China, as early as 770-476 BC. Ancient Chinese astronomers divided the whole year into 24 solar terms according to climate changes. The Chinese also found that the Winter Solstice was the shortest daytime and longest night time in the whole year. After winter solstice, daytime will grow increasingly longer as the sun slowly moves back to the northern hemisphere. Hence, Winter Solstice is a solar term in Chinese lunar calendar and often falls on December 22 or 23 (solar calendar) every year.The festival that fall on this date is known as Dongzhi Festival or Tang Chek (in Hokkien) . During the Tang and Song Dynasties, ancestor worship was performed on the Winter Solstice. Today this tradition of celebrating Winter Solstice is a cultural practice for many Chinese worldwide and it is considered as an auspicious celebration. In Malaysia and Singapore, the Dongzhi Festival is celebrated as family get together event. It is the time where families gather to make and eat tangyuan (湯圓) or balls of glutinuous rice balls, which symbolize reunion. Tangyuan are made of glutinuous rice which is grounded to a flour and then coloured. The flour balls may be plain or stuffed (with a sweet bean paste or ground nuts). They are cooked in a sweet light syrup or savoury broth. Some Chinese Taoist and Buddhist will make tangyuan offering to their ancestors on this day. Many Chinese also consider this a cultural event, a time for a family gathering. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Festival of the Nine Emperor Gods (according to lunar calendar - Sept/Oct) This festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth moon in the Chinese lunar calendar. The Nine Emperor Gods are spiritual mediums believed to dwell in the stars in heaven. On the eve of the ninth moon, temples of the Deities hold a ceremony to welcome the gods. The rituals during the festival acts as a channel between celestial beings and humans for the salvation and protection of mankind. The Gods are believed to travel through the waterways so processions are held from temples to the seashore or river. The celebration lasts for 9 days. Many devotees throng to the temples to offer prayers and follow a vegetarian diet during this period. On the 9th day ends usually with a fire-walking ritual. In Penang temples are crowded and streets are lined with stalls selling praying items of vegetarian food. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Dragon Boat Festival / Chang Festival (according to lunar calendar - June/July) This festival marks the death of a Chinese poet and scholar Qu Yuan who drowned in 296 BC in Hunan province in China . When people heard of his disappearance, they scoured the river in boats to rescue him, beating their drums to scare off the fishes from nibbling at his body. Unable to find his body, they made glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and threw them into the river in the hope that the fishes would eat these dumplings instead of his remains. To commemorate the occasion, boats were decorated with dragon heads on their bows. This day falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.The tradition of making dumplings (called 'chang')is celebrated by the Chinese community in Malaysia with the offering of the dumplings to the gods and their ancestors. The festival is celebrated in Penang annually with an international dragon boat competition which is immensely popular and attracts participants from all over the world. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cheng Beng (April) This event falls on the third month of the lunar calendar and usually coincides with April. It is the Chinese equivalent of All Souls’ Day. During this month, the Chinese will visit the cemeteries to clean the ancestral graves and make offerings to the spirits of their departed loved ones. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Monday 30 January 2012
CHINESE NEW YEAR IN MALAYSIA
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