As the Chinese New Year approaches, Loka Made is reminiscing celebratory times and shared memories of the Lunar New Year in the heart of Kampung Baru through illustration.
新村有新春：我家在新村
My Home At Kampung Baru
新村是英殖民政府将当时南下的华人组织在一个村庄内，就演变成了现在的“新村”。
Kampung Baru was established as a relocation settlement for rural Chinese during the British Colonial times.
Everyone starts to get excited during the Chinese New Year season, and children of all ages especially are eager to enjoy the festivities and celebrate tradition. One tradition that's sure to be a big hit is the firecracker to usher in the New Year with good fortune for all. The bing-bang sounds of the firecrackers are said to have been used to keep evil spirits away, now with things like Pop Pop and Magic Wand Crackers, kids can have fun whilst also helping keep any negativity away!
One month before the Lunar New Year, people will start buying new year's goods to usher in the New Year. Our grandparents would visit their regular markets to buy food specific to the celebrations of the New Year such as Chinese New Year snacks, rice cakes (nian gao), mandarin oranges and so on.
But on Chinese New Year’s Eve, the busy cooks will come to the market at dawn to buy an abundance of meat, seafood and vegetables to prepare the reunion dinner. Neighbors shuttled between the stalls, and New Year's songs echoed throughout the market, Chinese New Year is truly a time to live in the moment.
The Lion Dance is a form of Chinese traditional dance that is mostly performed during Chinese New Year. There are two main types of lion dance differentiated based on the region it originated from, which are the Northern Lion and the Southern Lion. The Lion Dance that we are familiar with in Malaysia is of the Southern variety. Southern lion comes in an array of colors and gives a wild and ferocious look.
The epitome of the lion dance is the ‘picking the green’ (Cai Qing) performance whereby the lion will pluck the auspicious green lettuce either hung on a pole or above the food of the premises. Ever seen lion dancers jumping from one high pole to another? Fun fact, we Malaysian invented the high pole lion dance.
Ang pows are lucky money packed into a red packet and given out by elders as a token of good wishes during Chinese New Year. The practice of giving out ang pows dates back to the Han Dynasty when the elderly would thread coins with red string to gift to the younger generation as money to ward off evil spirits (ya sui qian).
The origin of ya sui qian might have its roots in a folk tale involving an evil demon called Sui, as known to appear every Chinese New Year's Eve during the night to touch a sleeping child's head three times, causing them to fall deathly ill or lead to their death.
Hearing prayers from the worried parents, god turned eight fairies into eight coins to trick the demon, which was then wrapped in red paper and placed under the infant's pillow. Everyone then began wrapping coins in red paper to protect their children from Sui. Over time, handing out Ang Pows has become a traditional custom to signify luck, prosperity, and goodwill.
Prosperity Toss (‘yu sheng’ in Mandarin) is a main feature for all Chinese New Year feasts, as a symbol of abundance and prosperity. Today, the common form of Prosperity Toss is the seven-coloured raw fish salad (qi cai yu sheng) with auspicious ingredients such as raw salmon, shredded vegetables, fruits, peanuts, and a variety of sauces and condiments.
Armed with chopsticks, everyone will gather (also a sign of harmony) to toss yee sang from a height and recite various auspicious wishes loudly to ring in good fortune. The higher the throw, the greater the luck!
The "New Year at Kampung Baru'' gift box includes traditional new year snacks from Heritaste, red envelopes and greeting cards, hope to spark a nostalgic feeling of home and celebration.
