Celebrating CNY

If you're walking around trying to figure out where all that drumming and clanging of cymbals is coming from, fear not! for its the return of Chinese New Year! I couldnt give you a good historical background about it even if I tried (I probably would end up making things up which is never good) so needless to say I shall focus on the fun aspects of Chinese New Year



1) The lion dancing. If you're lucky enough to hear those drums and cymbals and all, hunt it down right to the source and chances are you will see a troup of lion dancers. Essentially 2 guys dressed up with lion legs and controlling a large lion head with a tail. The lion head doesnt exactly look like a lion, but go figure. Their dancing immitates the movements of a lion and may even include aerobatics of leaping from poles. Typically done to also provide a blessing on businesses/ establishments for the new year you will see it ending with the lion 'eating' oranges or an angpau which is prepared by the proprieter. Turns out, this may have originated from China, but isn't as popular there as it is in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia nowadays. And if you're unlucky and unable to hunt down a lion dancing troupe, Genting also holds an annual world lion dancing championship (that yes, Ive been trying to go to but have not been able to in a while)

2) Food. Like Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas time in Malaysia, Chinese New Year is also all about the food. If you're receieved an invite to head over to your friends place to celebrate, be prepared to eat, drink and be merry. And if you're lucky, catch a game of mahjong as well. And don't forget to bring a present for your host! Drinks, fruits, desserts, cookies being quite common gifts

3) The infamous Ang Pau packets. You may be lucky enough to receive one of these babies as you go visiting. Typically given by married couples to singles, you may receive amounts ranging from RM5 upwards (which Im guessing is directly correlated with your kinship with the person giving it) of course a word of warning as you may not necessarily receive this.. especially if you're >20 years old =P

4) No.traffic.in.the.city. One of the perks of living in the heart of town, CNY is when KL typically gets very quiet, and shops close on the first day. Traffic generally gets diverted outwards as the Chinese families head back to Melaka, Penang, Ipoh and Taiping. Try not to head out as the city is the best place to be at this time... malls too, since not so many people remain in town

and so it is... to enjoy my few days off, will be heading out for rock climbing at Camp 5 followed by a gastronomic feast at my Chinese friends house.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!