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Greetings Everybody!

Chinese New Year is just round the corner. I am sure many of you are busy with preparations to usher in the year of the Rat. Also known as ‘Spring Festival’ or ‘Lunar New Year’ it is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. The festival proper begins on the first day of the first lunar month in the chinese calendar and ends on the 15th.

The Chinese New Year celebrations are marked by visits to relatives and friends, a practice known as "new-year visits" New clothings are usually worn to signify a new year. The color red is liberally used in all decorations. Red packets are given to juniors and children by the married and elders.

On the days before the New Year celebration, Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of the preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets. The biggest event of any Chinese New Year is the New Year Eve dinner every family will have. A reunion dinner is held on New Year’s eve where members of the family, near and far, get together for the celebration. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family.

The first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.

The second day of the Chinese New Year is for married daughters to visit their birth parents.

The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuánxiāo jié, otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect. Tangyuan a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day. This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.

In this issue, we have recipes for some food eaten during Chinese New Year and a host of other interesting articles. Do read on!

Happy New Year, 新年快乐!

Dr Veronica Tay