Chinese New Year Spring Festivities 15 Days Guide [Updated]

Chinese New Year, the grandest festival for the Chinese people, is celebrated for fifteen days.

According to the oldest traditions, this fifteen-day guide will help you follow specific things on certain days.

Chinese New Year Festivities in Malaysia Are Uniquely Different

The Chinese community in Malaysia originally migrated from China.

Over the centuries, the customs and celebrations here have differed from Mainland China’s observation of the spring festivals.

When is the Chinese New Year celebrated in 2023?

Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, 25 January 2020.

The year of the metal rat (2020) officially starts on 25 January.

What is the difference between Chinese Calendar Dates and Gregorian Calendars Dates?

Chinese New Year celebration is based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which records a new moon’s start.

The ‘Gregorian’ calendar is traditionally used in the West, which always starts every 1 January.

According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the first Day of the first lunar month, falls on Sun, 22 January 2023.

What is the Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most crucial celebration in the Chinese calendar.

In Chinese tradition, each year is named after one of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac.

What are the animals in the Chinese Zodiac?

The Chinese zodiac is a repeating cycle of 12 years, and each year is related to an animal sign and its reputed attributes.

The 12 animals represented are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

How did the Rat become the first of all the zodiac animals?

According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would decide the order of zodiac animals when they arrived at his party.

The Rat tricked the Ox into giving him a ride.

Then, just as they arrived at the finish line, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox, becoming first.

What animal year is 2023?

A Rabbit year occurs every 12 years. The Zodiacal Rat Years include 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035, 2047, 2059, 2071, 2083, 2095

2023 is the year of the Water Rabbit, starting on 22 January, 2023 (Chinese New Year), and ending on 9 February, 2024 (Chinese New Year’s Eve).

What are the characteristics of the Year of the Rabbit?

The sign of the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture.

People born in the Year of the Rabbit are believed to be vigilant, witty, quick-minded, and ingenious.

What does the Year of the Rabbit symbolize?

The Year of the Rabbit is considered yin and, compared to its light, more active counterpart, emphasizes the importance of rest.

The rabbit is a symbol of intellect and cautiousness.

Is the Year of the Rabbit Lucky?

The sign of the Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. 2023 is predicted to be a year of hope.

Lucky Prayers, Astrology, and Fortune Seeking for Chinese New Year

For many Chinese, seeking fortune through prayers and astrology is common practice.

They prioritize ensuring good luck in areas like finance, romance, marriage, and workplace relationships.

This explains the popularity of TV astrologers and Feng Shui masters who offer general readings.

Taoists frequently seek personal consultations to improve their fortunes.

They also use good luck charms, amulets, and crystals for protection and to attract positive energy.

How is the Chinese New Year celebrated?

Chinese New Year is a time for family reunions.

Family members are expected to return home to celebrate with the matriarch and patriarch.

The New Year’s Eve dinner, known as the “reunion dinner,” is the most important meal for the Chinese.

How long is the Chinese New Year festival?

The Chinese New Year preparations start on the 23rd or 24th Day of the Chinese calendar’s 12th lunar month.

The festival ends in the Chinese calendar on the 15th Day of the first lunar month of the following year.

Chinese New Year Spring Festivities Fifteen Days Guide – Preparation & Auspicious Days

23rd Day of the 12th lunar month  – Appease and Send off the Kitchen God 3

In traditional Chinese culture, the Kitchen God (Stove God) is a domestic deity responsible for overseeing a family’s nourishment.

He also serves to protect the hearth and its members.

Each year, the Kitchen God ascends to report the family’s daily affairs to the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor then decides whether to reward the family based on this report.

Most homes honor the Kitchen God with a paper image hung above the stove.

To appease him, families offer prayers along with sweets, cakes, drinks, and beans.

Chinese New Year Glutinous Rice Cake 甜粿 Tnee Kueh “sweet cake.”

The Tnee Kueh (年糕 Niángāo in Mandarin) is a traditional Chinese New Year recipe. In Chinese, Niángāo means “getting higher every year.”

This means a significant improvement to your business and life.

The main ingredients of Tnee Kueh are glutinous rice flour and sugar.

The mixture is poured into banana leaf-lined containers and steamed.

Nowadays, homemade Tnee Kueh is not readily available.

Many Malaysians use store-bought Tnee Kueh in plastic molds, available at hypermarkets.

These steamed sticky glutinous rice cakes are offered to the Kitchen God during Chinese New Year.

Tnee Kueh is used to seal the Kitchen God’s lips to sweeten his report.

This practice helps prevent the Jade Emperor from punishing the family.

As a result, everyone can live safely throughout the year.

23rd Day of the 12th lunar month  – Worship Kitchen God

On the appointed day, this image will be taken down.

The image is burned to send the spirit off, only to be welcomed again on the Lunar New Year’s First Day.

On New Year’s Eve, the family hangs a new image of the Kitchen God.

He receives a warm welcome to look after the family for the upcoming year.

After prayers to the Kitchen God, the family will have an ancestor’s worship.

Keep Your Pantry Well Stocked

The hypermarkets and China specialty stores are typically jam-packed a week before the Chinese New Year.

Everyone stocks up before businesses close on New Year’s Eve.

Most of your shopping will focus on specialty food and drinks.

This is also a time to buy or make paper decorations like spring couplets for the home.

Fresh flowering plants and potted lime trees are bought and placed outside the front door.

Tray of Togetherness

“Tray of Togetherness,” representing good fortune, is known simply as the Candy Tray and is normally filled on Chinese New Year’s Eve.

This is used to welcome guests and relatives who drop by for a visit.

What are the auspicious items for the Candy Tray?

• Candied melon – growth and good health
• Red watermelon seeds – dyed red to symbolize joy, happiness, truth, and sincerity
• Lychee – strong family relationships
• Dried Kumquats – prosperity (gold)
• Coconut Candy – togetherness
• Peanuts – long life
• Longnan – many good sons
• Lotus seed – many children
• Lucky Red Candy & Sweets
• Gold Chocolate Coins
• Candied Winter Melon
• Pistachios & Cashews
• Candied Lotus Root

Auspicious snacks are known to bring good luck for the Chinese New Year.

Auspicious snacks include Mandarin oranges, Tangerines, Pomelos, Groundnuts, Roasted Pumpkin, or Melon Seeds.

The traditionalists believe eating eight types of auspicious foods will bestow good fortune upon the family.

The Chinese believe that abundance at Chinese New Year will carry forward into the following year.

So make sure your rice bins are full.

According to the traditional Chinese New Year preparation schedule, cleaning is done on this Day.

However, many families start weeks ahead of the Spring Festival.

The Chinese spring cleans their home.

In Chinese, cleaning the dust means driving away from old things.

It is also a symbolic way of cleansing oneself of last year’s troubles and putting one’s best foot forward for the following year.

Three Days before Cleaning your home top to bottom

All vessels, curtains, bedding, and corners need to be cleaned.

In preparation for the New Year, every nook and cranny of the house must be swept with bamboo leaves or a broom.

This is the time to tackle your entire to-do list.

• Paint your home
• Mend your clothes
• Make repairs to your home.
• Sweep, scrub, and clean every nook, cranny, and surface
• Throw away unused or broken items
• Change new curtains

Get your kids in on the act by having them clean their rooms.

The Chinese hope to welcome the festival and the God of Prosperity in a clean environment.

Remember that cleaning is not allowed on New Year’s Day, as the Chinese believe it will sweep away good luck.

25th day of the 12th lunar month  – Make Bean Curd

Traditionally, making bean curd is a practice in some places in China.

It is believed that the Jade Emperor will visit to inspect the human world to verify that the report from the Kitchen God is faithful.

To testify that what the Kitchen God said is true, people eat cheap bean curd to show that they live a frugal life.

Thus, they can avoid punishment from the Jade Emperor.

26th Day of the 12th lunar month – Buy meat

In ancient China, most of the ordinary people are very poor.

They could only afford to eat pork during this festival.

Today, butchering pigs reared by every family is the main event.

So is buying pork to reserve for the Chinese New Year Festivities.

Most of us eat meat in our daily diet; however, some older folks will keep the tradition and buy some meat.

27th day of the 12th lunar month  – Shopping & Bathing

Shopping is the most important activity on this Day when they buy items for the next year.

• Buy new clothes
• Buy new pajamas
• Buy new underwear
• Buy new shoes
• Buy new handbags

What are Chinese New Year Decorations?

The Chinese will buy fireworks, Chinese New Year decorations, couplets, and toys for the children.

In the homes, the vertical red paper banner with couplets like “big prosperity coming in a big way” or “peace on your coming and going” is hung.

The red banner or an auspicious ‘chai’ bearing well wishes of prosperity and wealth is hung over the front door.

In the folk custom, the Chinese will have baths and wash all their clothes to remove bad luck from the previous year.

The Significance of Chinese New Year Decorations

• Chinese Red Lanterns — Drives Off Bad Luck
• Door Couplets — Best Wishes for the Coming Year
• Paper Cuttings — Luck and Happiness
• New Year Paintings — a Symbol of New Year’s Greetings
• Upside-Down Fu Characters — Luck ‘Poured Out’
• Oranges and Tangerines – Luck and Wealth
• Kumquat Trees — a Wish for Wealth and Good Luck
• Blooming Flowers — Wishes for a Prosperous New Year

In China, the Chinese will make steamed loaves of bread.

Paper cuts are done today and used to decorate rooms and paste on home windows.

They will start food preparation on all days, from the beginning of the Chinese New Year on the first Day of the first lunar month to the Lantern Festival on the 15th.

In ancient times, nothing could be bought during that period.

Settle your debts

For the Chinese, spring cleaning extends to financial affairs and personal disputes.

Pay off your credit cards and settle any outstanding unpaid financial debts.

Making peace with that troublesome person in your life is also essential.

All unpaid financial debts are collected and settled one week before the Chinese New Year.

Wise Elders will advise the younger family member to prepare their mind and body for the new year.

• Go for a walk to clear your head.
• Visit the barber or hairstylist for a fresh haircut, perm, or color.
• Buy a new set of clothes (red for good luck!), including new pajamas and underwear.
• Generally, they substitute evil thoughts with optimism.

Start cooking One Day Before the Chinese New Year.

If you’re planning a traditional reunion dinner with eight or more courses, you’ll want to start cooking the Day before.

• Focus on the dishes that are served cold.
• Start with marinating the ingredients overnight.
• The dishes that require a longer braising can be started ahead of time.
• This is also your last chance to ensure you have all the fresh, raw, and dried ingredients you need.
• Many shops are jammed packed, in case of last-minute shopping.
• A few wet markets are open for fresh meats and fowl throughout the night.
• In case you need anything, you need to make this trip.

Stuff Your Ang Pow (red envelopes) with New Money.

Remember to visit your bank early to request crisp new bank notes and ensure you have all the necessary denominations for lucky money.

Prepare to fill out the Ang Pow for the many opportunities to exchange red envelopes during Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year’s Eve is the most critical and cheerful Day to prepare your reunion dinner.

The family reunion dinner is part of the traditional festivities, staying up all night on its EEve

This is a busy time dedicated to preparing and cooking lots of auspicious foods intended to shower wealth, luck, and success on the family.

The must-haves for Chinese New Year play on the symbolism of sound and colors that are interesting. All denote prosperity and wealth in one way or another.

For the Chinese, working hard and saving money is a must.

The older generation may be frugal in daily expenses, but for the Lunar New Year, they will spend their hard-earned money on nutritious food.

Spending on premium ingredients

For this, the Chinese will splurge on the reunion meal, which may cost several hundred dollars.

The food is cooked in massive amounts and intentionally left over to signify “abundance.”

The family matriarch takes command, gets the household in order, and plans traditional festive dishes.

All dishes have auspicious names or use ingredients that sound auspicious.

The reunion dinner has numerous dishes and traditionally includes meats such as chicken, pork, prawns, fish, fish maw, prawns, abalone, and dried oysters.

Choice ingredients include

• lotus seeds
• ginkgo nuts
• dried bean curd
• bamboo shoots
• lettuce
• mushrooms
• dumplings
• long noodles
• and black hair-like algae, “fat choy,” a “hair vegetable” in Chinese.

Reunion Steamboat Dinner

A Chinese New Year Steamboat Reunion Dinner is very popular.

Instead of a formal sit-down dinner, many families prefer a more casual Steamboat.

This is a good practice since family members may arrive home at different times.

When they reach the family home, everyone can cook and eat to their liking.

The Matriarch will prepare a chicken soup base and pieces of fresh seafood, meat, and vegetables.

Some garlic oil, chili, and soy dipping sauces are typically ready for this meal.

Steamboat for Chinese New Year

Traditionally, the Chinese believe in preparing extra food for leftovers* for the following 1-2 days.

You can use the leftovers to make soupy noodles or other dishes in the coming days.

Leftovers symbolize lots of savings in the coming year.

Some families have a pot of cooked rice, even for a steamboat dinner.

Whether you eat it or not, this is a symbol of prosperity.

Sometimes, a bowl of freshly cooked rice is left on the Kitchen God’s altar.

The color of the mold that appears will foretell the family’s fortune for the coming year.

A yellow-colored mold indicates good fortune!

Auspicious Chinese New Year Food Symbolism

Auspicious steamboat ingredients include fresh seafood.

• Prawns are a symbol of happiness (sounds like “ha” in Cantonese, hence 笑 “哈哈”)
• Fish & abalone is a symbol of abundance (年年有余/年年包有余)
• Yong Tau Foo (which are pieces of food with stuffed fish paste)
• Dumplings that resemble gold ingots (ancient Chinese currency)
• Long noodles signify longevity.

Inauspicious Chinese New Year food

Inauspicious food is considered so due to the sound of their names.

• Sour and bitter food

Bitter gourd should never be served during the Chinese New Year.

* Note that certain foods (such as tau pok, aka stuffed bean curd puffs, and fresh Yong Tau Foo pieces) do not stay well overnight in the fridge and can quickly turn bad and sour the next Day.

The significance of the Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner

Like the Christmas dinner in Western countries, the reunion dinner is significant for Western Chinese people, as it is the time for them to reunite.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the family unites for the grandest annual event: a multi-generational family reunion dinner in the evening.

The feasting starts with The Reunion Dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve, where a large gathering of family members head home to eat and unite.

This is held annually so that family members can get together to celebrate.

This is that time for laughter, eating and drinking, and merrymaking.

Eating out during Chinese New Year

Preparing an auspicious feast for the Chinese New Year need not be stressful or difficult.

Modern families prefer not to cook and now celebrate at restaurants and hotels where Chinese course meals are prevalent and sought after.

Many of the dishes featured have auspicious names similar to “prosperity.”

The Chinese believe that having one will lead to greater prosperity and abundance.

Hotels and restaurants offer a Reunion Dinner Package to attract modern working couples and their families who want to have a great reunion dinner but haven’t the skill or time to cook.

Chinese course meals are trendy and sought after, and the feasting continues.

The celebration lasts 15 days, from the 1st to the 15th Day of the first lunar month.

Some Chinese businesses close for a week or up to 15 days for the Chinese New Year.

Pass the time until midnight and celebrate the Chinese New Year

Welcome to the New Year by opening all of your windows and doors.

Many places will strike bells or set off firecrackers and fireworks at midnight to pray for the next smooth year.

The Chinese will set off firecrackers at midnight to send off the old year, scare off evil spirits, and welcome good luck into your home.

At the stroke of midnight, the New Year’s zodiac animal enters, takes its throne, and bestows a renewed sense of hope.

What is the color to wear on the first Day of the Chinese New Year?

Wear Red.

Red is a lucky color as it brings good fortune and luck.

Wear red during Chinese New Year to have a good Year of the Pig and keep evil spirits at bay.

What are the unlucky colors to avoid during the Chinese New Year?

White or black clothes as these are traditional mourning colors.

Wear new clothes as damaged or torn old garments are said to bring bad luck.

Are there any first-day Chinese New Year Taboos?

Chinese people believe that, as the Spring Festival is the start of a new year, you should not do many things to affect your luck in the coming year.

Traditionally, many taboos are associated with the New Year Festival.

The modern urban families in larger cities and the younger generation are more practical and may not follow these taboos anymore.

What should you not do if you celebrate the Chinese New Year in Malaysia?

Chinese New Year Taboos – Things You Should Not Do During Chinese New Year

• Avoid taking medicine.
• Don’t sweep or take out the garbage.
• Don’t eat porridge and meat for breakfast.
• Don’t wash your clothes and hair.
• Needlework should not be done.
• A married daughter is not allowed to visit the house of her parents.

Top 15 Chinese New Year Taboos

Food

• Avoid taking medicine or brewing herbal medicine.
• Don’t eat meat for breakfast out of respect for the Buddhist gods believed to be against animal killing.
• No killing in the Spring Festival as blood-sighted is considered an ill omen, which will cause misfortunes such a bloody disaster.
• Avoid eating porridge and meat for breakfast as it is considered a pauper’s meal and a bad omen for starting the year “poor.”

Cleaning/Cooking/Washing

• Don’t sweep or take out the garbage; this is associated with sweeping wealth or good fortune away from the house.
• Keep needles, knives, and scissors in a safe place to prevent an accident.
• Don’t wash clothes and hair on the first and second days, as it is not good to “wash one’s fortune away” at the beginning of the New Year.

Family Members

• A married daughter is not allowed to visit her parent’s house on the first Day, as this is believed to bring bad luck to the parents and cause economic hardship.
• A child’s cry is believed to bring bad luck to the family, so parents do their best to prevent children from crying by any means possible.

Breaking Items

• Breaking tools or other equipment during this period is associated with a loss of wealth.

Hospitals/Police Station

• Do not visit the hospital except in cases of extreme emergency.
• Take care not to have your pocket picked—this is akin to having your wealth stolen in the coming year.

Debts/Money/Gifts

• Do not lend on New Year’s Day; all debts must be paid by New Year’s Eve.
• The rice jar must be full, as having no rice to cook during the New Year is an ill omen.
• Don’t give specific gifts, like clocks, scissors, and pears, as they have a bad meaning in Chinese culture.

What do the Chinese do during Chinese New Year Festivities?

Chinese New Year is a time to honor the elders. The Chinese will visit their relatives, starting with the oldest members of their extended families.

Visits are typically from morning until evening.

The younger generation, with their families, will make rounds bearing gifts and wishes.

Dinners are often held in honor of senior members of the family.

Why do Chinese gamble during Chinese New Year Festivities?

Chinese people love all forms of gambling.

Betting in games such as mahjong and various card games is common for families to amuse themselves.

1st Day of 1st lunar month – Chinese New Year

Softly enter the First Day of the Chinese New Year.

After the midnight firecrackers and laughter, New Year’s Day is generally a quiet affair.

People emerge quietly from their homes, dressed in new clothes, and are on their best behavior.

No one works, cooks, or cleans.

Unlucky words are avoided at all costs—no swearing or uttering foul language and negativity.

After the meal, the younger generations are happiest because they can receive red envelopes from the older generations.

What are the Chinese New Year Wishes?

The children and younger family members will greet their elders with a hearty “Keong Hee Huat Chye” on the 1st—Day of the Chinese New Year.

Keong Hee Huat Chye, which means “congratulations and prosperity.”

Chinese love money and will wish each other prosperity and wealth – not Happy New Year!

In return, the children and single unmarried adults will receive lucky red packets (and pow) containing cash from parents, married family members, and friends.

Wishes for Lunar New Year (updated 5/2/2023)

May this Chinese New Year bring you close to your family and fill your life with great joy.

Happy Lunar New Year, my dear.

Wishing you a healthy, prosperous, and joyous year ahead. Happy Chinese New Year.

The lunar new year is here! May you have a year full of color, love, and happiness.

Chinese New Year Greetings

Nowadays, some Chinese prefer “Xin Nian Kuai Le,” which means Happy New Year, instead of focusing on the spirit of togetherness rather than more material gains.

Many resort to sending greetings and wishes through social media text messages, e-mails, and video calls.

What are the Chinese New Year Greetings?

They greet neighbors with good luck messages and remember that New Year’s Day sets the tone for the rest of the year.

What are the auspicious snacks for the Chinese New Year?

Auspicious snacks offered to visitors include mandarin oranges, groundnuts, and roasted pumpkin or melon seeds.

The traditionalists believe eating eight types of auspicious foods will bestow good fortune upon the family.

What do the Chinese eat for New Year’s Day?

After the lavish meal of the Reunion Dinner, the family eats leftovers from the last dinner.

The Hakkas usually eat vegetarian on the first Day of the Chinese New Year.

The Cantonese will have their vegetarian meal on the second Day.

2nd Day of 1st lunar month  – Worship God of Wealth

According to the Chinese New Year schedule, the Chinese will worship the God of Wealth today.

It was also the time for married daughters to visit their birth parents and relatives because they could not return to their birth families in daily life in ancient China.

Even though daughters can visit their birth parents anytime, this custom remains.

The 2nd Day is a time to pay a Chinese New Year’s visit and send blessings to the senior members of extended families and other relatives.

3rd Day of 1st lunar month  – Stay at Home

Known as Beggar’s Day, the Chinese will stay home and not visit each other on this inauspicious Day.

6th Day of the 1st lunar month  – Prayers at Snake Temple

Devotees will pray on Chor Soo Kong’s birthday and offer eggs to the temple’s guardian snakes.

In Chinese mythology, humanity was created on this Day.

So, this Day is humanity’s birthday.

On this Day, the Chinese make porridge from seven kinds of vegetables and rice to celebrate their birthdays.

“Yee Sang,” a dish popular in Malaysia for the festivities, originated in other countries, and China does not highlight it during the celebrations.

What is Yee Sang?

“Yee Sang,” also known as the “prosperity toss,” consists of raw fish, shredded vegetables, lime, pickled ginger, and various fried crunchiest.

Smoked salmon is commonly used instead of raw fish to be mixed and tossed.

“Yee Sang” has various colors; mixing and tossing them in unison represents a joyous celebration.

The higher the ingredients are tossed with their chopsticks with shouts of “Loh Hei,” the greater the prosperity they will enjoy throughout the year.

8th Day of the 1st lunar month  – Hokkien New Year’s Eve

On the 8th Day, the Hokkiens will rush to the wet markets to buy the essential items for the midnight prayers celebrated on the 9th Day of the Lunar calendar’s first month.

Hokkien people celebrate Thanksgiving worship on the 8^th Day as the “Phai Thien Kong,” which means “praying to the Heaven God or Jade Emperor.”

“Pai Thnee Kong” is grander than the first Day of the Chinese New Year. The Malaysian Hokkien community welcomes its New Year on the ninth Day.

The Hokkien New Year honours the birthday of the Jade Emperor God

Why did the Hokkien celebrate Chinese New Year on the 9^th Day?

The Hokkien New Year legend, “Pai Thnee Kong,” literally means ‘praying to the Heaven God.’

During the Chinese New Year of the Ming Dynasty, bandits raided the province of Hokkien.

These intruders, however, robbed and burned down villages and attacked and killed the villagers.

The villages’ people escaped from their burnt villages during the night and hid in the sugarcane fields.

There, the villagers prayed to Thnee Kong” for salvation.

The intruders spent many days trying to locate and hunt the Hokkien people.

Finally, on the ninth Day of that Chinese New Year, the bandits gave up and returned to their region.

The Hokkiens emerged from the sugar cane fields, praising the celestial deities’ blessings.

They were grateful to the sugarcane plants for saving them from destruction.

As the 9th Day of the Chinese New Year coincided with Heaven God’s birthday, they decided to make votive offerings and thanksgiving prayers to the Jade Emperor for their salvation.

Thanksgiving Prayer of Gratitude – Hokkien “Pai Thnee Kong”

Hokkien New Year’s Eve

In the Lunar calendar, the Hokkiens start their prayers at 11 pm on the 8th Day of the Chinese New Year, but preparations start well.

Although these prayers are traditionally performed only by Hokkiens, more and more non-Hokkien people have begun to pray for a good year ahead.

On the eve of the 9th Day, the Hokkiens set up a prayer altar and table (draped in a red tablecloth) full of food, which they offered to the Jade Emperor.

A pair of sugar canes is an absolute MUST and is used to decorate the altar table.

The Hokkiens usually placed sugar cane stalks on each side of the offering table at the house’s front door.

The pair of sugarcane symbolizes unity, cooperation, and strength.

The sugarcane symbolizes harmony and a token that can bring good and’ sweet’ results.

The very straightness of the sugarcane stem also ensures that the Hokkiens can become a clan of honest and sincere people.

Thus, in all Hokkien celebrations, the sugarcane plant is given prominence.

The table is beautifully arranged with all the praying paraphernalia, including big red candles, Dragon Joss Sticks, and big joss papers known as Ti-Kong-Kim.

The burnt offering is the gold Ti-Kong-Kim papers folded into elaborate shapes to resemble ancient Chinese gold ingots.

This folded paper can be stacked and crafted into beautiful paper pineapples.

Kim Cua (folded pieces of gold paper).

These papers are hung from the sugarcanes before being burnt as a thanksgiving offering to Thnee Kong.

Like the food offering, this joss paper offering symbolizes asking Thnee Kong to bless the Hokkien clan with good fortune.

Prayer Altars for “Pai Thnee Kong”

A table altar is usually set up in front of the house adorned with sugar cane stalks filled to the brim with bountiful offerings.

Some of the most popular food offertory items include

Delicious Traditional Cakes

• huat kueh (pink prosperity cakes)
• tnee kueh (sticky glutinous rice cake),
• ang Koo (red tortoise cakes)
• mee koo  (red-colored buns)
• bright pink miniature pagoda cakes
• bee koh (flattened sweetened glutinous rice)

Cooked Meats

• whole roasted pigs
• roasted chicken
• roasted duck
• cuttlefish
• fish
• boiled crab

Fresh fruits are decorated with red symbols

• Chinese pear or Nashi pear (Lai Ya)
• Pineapples (Ong Lai)
• Red Apples (Peng Ko)

and even

• bottles of liquor

When is “Pai Thnee Kong” Prayers?

The Hokkien start their “Pai Thnee Kong” prayers at 11 pm.

The prayer ends depending on the throwing of the “pua-poay.”

This is a pair of kidney-shaped wooden blocks that the Taoists use to communicate with the Deities or even their ancestors.

The prayer could well end as late as 2 am.

It depends on the throwing of the pua-puay, which signifies that the deities have completed their meal.

At the stroke of midnight, piles of folded Ti-Kong-Kim are set ablaze.

The family took the sugarcane stalks from the altars and threw them into the flames.

Skyrockets scream and firecrackers thunder as the night sky is set ablaze with fireworks to mark the beginning of the ninth Day of the Hokkien people’s survival.

Pai Thnee Kong celebration is best witnessed at the Chew Clan Jetty at Weld Quay.

9th Day of the 1st lunar month  – Hokkien New Year

On this day, the Hokkien rests from the eEve’s prayers and celebrations.

Hakka Community Celebrate the 1^st and 9^th Day with a Vegetarian Meal.

Eating nine kinds of vegetables on the ninth Day of the Chinese New Year is a must for the Hakka community as numerous offerings are set out in the temples’ courtyard for the Jade Emperor’s birthday.

15th Day of 1st lunar month  – Lantern Festival, Chap Goh Meh (Chinese Valentine)

The 15th Day is the first full moon after the Chinese New Year Festivities.

The night is referred to as Chap Goh Meh (Hokkien for the 15^th night)

This also refers to the Lantern Festival.

At night, tourists and locals will enjoy the evening parade of floats and lanterns as the celebrations wind down to mark the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.

Chinese New Year in Malaysia Has Unique Penang Chingay Street Parade

In George Town, the Chap Goh Meh (Chinese Valentine) is marked with the Hokkien community’s boisterous celebration of the Chingay.

Chingay is a street parade with acrobats balancing huge flags hung on bamboo poles.

The parade moves slowly along the busy streets of George Town, to the beat of gongs, drums, and cymbals to lion and dragon dancers and stilt walkers.

When the Sun sets, the celebration takes off to the golden era of the Babas and Nyonyas.

The Dondang Sayang troop will go around George Town in illuminated buses to sing their pantuns and serenade the Chap Goh Meh revelers.

Chap Goh Meh Parades During Chinese New Year in Malaysia

In the olden days, unmarried women only got to go out once a year.

The maidens ride in cars along the Gurney Drive or Esplanade.

Chap Goh Meh is an opportunity for maidens to be “seen” by young gentlemen.

Finding love through oranges during Chap Goh Meh

The orange tossing tradition was said to have originated from the Hokkien community.

It started in the southern part of China in the 19th century.

In Penang, single women and even tourists joined the orange-throwing festival.

Many single ladies hope their Mr. Right will pick up the oranges they throw during the Chap Goh Meh.

They wrote their names and Instagram handles on the oranges.

Some hopeful ladies even included their phone numbers to find their one true love.

The girls will throw mandarin oranges into the sea, wishing to meet a good husband.

For the love of Dondang Sayang and Duelling Pantuns

The Dondang Sayang troop goes around town in their illuminated buses.

The performers sing their pants and serenade the Chap Goh Meh revelers.

Everything goes back to normal after Chap Goh Meh.

Peranakan New Year

Selamat Taon Baru and ‘Panjang Panjang Umur’ are the Peranakan greetings that show respect for the elders.

Visit Penang

The Penang Hokkien Chinese community greets each other with “Keong Hee Huat Chye” during Chinese New Year. Now for the BEST part of being Malaysian.

Keong Hee Huat Chye!

Source: Travel China Guide

Chinese Rat Zodiac – Wikipedia