nateniale's travels

Chinese New Year is a celebration of the the first day of the lunar calendar, and lasts for 15 days. However, for the Hokkien community in Penang, the 9th day of Chinese New Year is also another celebration of the new year. Penang has a large Hokkien community, whose ancestors were immigrants primarily from Fujian province in China. The Hokkien New Year is to celebrate the day when the Hokkiens escaped mistreatment by ruthless army in ancient China by seeking refuge in a sugarcane plantations. The Hokkiens emerged unharmed on the 9th day of Chinese New Year, and it was then considered as new year for the Hokkiens. The 9th day of Chinese New Year also coincides with the birthday of the Jade Emperor of Heaven ( Thni Kong Seh ). The Hokkien community in Penang celebrates Thni Kong Seh around midnight on the eighth day, by praying to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (or Thni Kong). While most homes would have their own celebration and prayers, the largest celebration was in Chew Jetty. A...

Clan houses has always been part and parcel of Penang, that they never really occupy my thoughts. So, I do not claim to be very knowledgeable on this topic. However, after walking around the Penang’s heritage site area for the Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration , I was fascinated by the number of clan houses there are in Penang. During the 1800s and 1900s, there was a huge stream of Chinese immigrants, primarily from Fujian province of China, who arrived in Penang. The many immigrants from Fujian province also explained why the Chinese in Penang are using the dialect Hokkien from the area. In order to maintain a sense of community for the new immigrants, the Chinese formed clans associations and build clan houses. These clan houses, also called “ kongsi ” in Hokkien, are usually part meeting hall and part temple for the clan. These clan associations were based on surnames or the area (or clan) that the Chinese are formed. Some of the surname-based clan houses are t...

On the 7th day of the Chinese New Year , Georgetown, Penang has been organising a Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration every year – and that was even before the city was given the UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2008. It used to be just a small scale celebration of the Chinese New Year, but the celebration has been getting bigger over the past years. This year, it fell on 20 February 2010 and was packed with activities, performances, exhibitions and stalls selling food, handicraft and painting. It was, in other words, packed with all things related to the Chinese in Penang, and swarming with people of all races and ages, and of course, with tourists who happened to be lucky enough to be in the island then. (Below is a photo of the main entrance to the celebration.) It was held at the heart of the heritage site, comprising the Acheen Street, Armenian Street (below), Cannon Street, Ah Quee Street, Soo Hong Lane, Chulia Street and Kampung Kolam. It was organis...

To everyone that celebrates the Chinese New Year...  Happy Chinese New Year!  May the year of the Tiger brings you health and happiness! As always, home is great during Chinese New Year, with many things that remained pleasantly unchanged. The Chinese New Year is celebrated on the first day of the lunar calendar and fell on Valentine's Day this year. It lasted for 15 days. I just realised that in Singapore, they used the (politically?) correct term “Lunar New Year”, which I believe is to dissociate it with the Chinese and to generalise it as the beginning of the lunar calendar. I find that quite unfortunate as the new year celebration that marked the first day of the lunar calendar is a very “Chinese” celebration around this region. In China, it is called the Spring Festival as it marked the beginning of Spring. Obviously, in countries like Malaysia and Singapore where there are not seasons, we can't really call it the Spring Festival. Regardless of what we call it, it ...