Sunday, February 13, 2011

Chinese New Year

We are now in the middle of the 15 days that mark the Chinese New Year in Singapore. There was a countdown celebration on the night of February 2, ushering in the year of the rabbit. Then, from the 3rd to the 18th, various events take place around the country, including fireworks, parades, and shows.

I had heard from my students that most people spent the first two days of the new year (Feb 3 and 4) either at home or traveling to various relatives' homes, sharing meals and auspicious wishes for the new year, and exchanging oranges and other gifts. Children and unmarried adults receive small envelopes containing money. In a generational twist, some elderly also receive these monetary gifts. Especially for students with large families (many aunts and uncles), this New Year's exchange can equal mean hundreds of dollars. The joy of receiving dozens of packets of money is something that will not be experienced by the next generation of children, who have far fewer extended family members. This is due to a continued low birthrate among Singaporeans. While several of my students mentioned that their parents had 7 or 8 siblings, families with more than two children are incredibly rare these days.

On February 3, based on my students' reports, we assumed that most people would be visiting relatives and not at tourist sites. So we traveled to Sentosa, to walk the new promenade that links Vivo City to Sentosa island and view the Sentosa Flowers Festival.

Throngs of people walking along the Sentosa Flowers Festival.

Given that this is the year of the rabbit (people who will turn 12, 24, 36 and so on in 2011), the Flowers Festival features a number of rabbits, like these with the marigolds. There were also a number of immense carrots, 15-foot tall electric poles covered with orange aluminum, shaped like carrots.

We also walked along the crowded beach at Siloso. There were many more people than the last time we visited in December, although not many were swimming. The temperatures have cooled recently (high 70s instead of high 80s), which may have kept people out of the water.


We stopped at the Wave House again (as in December), to watch the waveboarders. We shared a salad and a pizza, along with a frozen daiquiri. It was pricey, but no more than eating out at Clarke Quay or Holland Village. Plus, eating while looking out over the water is always worth paying a bit more.


While walking back to the mainland we caught the animatronic bird show/fireworks in front of the Resorts World casino. I always love watching fireworks. They capped a relaxing day.

No comments: