For a moment I thought I had walked into the red lantern district. At least this year everything is colour coordinated. Pictures of what our place looks like are below. I want to say that I’m not mocking my brother’s taste in decor. I’m really thankful that my he loves to decorate as it’s quite entertaining for me to be surprised each Christmas and Chinese New Year. It tickles me that he can sometimes be quite “Leisure Mall” in his home decor inclinations.
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Just in case you are wondering, here’s the significance of some Chinese traditions:
I never quite knew why we cleaned our houses till they were spotless. My mom made us do this since as far back as I can remember and I carry on this “fixation” till today. I just read that its to clear away misfortune and bad luck of the year that’s passing to make room for good fortune in the coming year.
Live blooming plants are bought and placed in homes to symbolize rebirth and new growth. Flowers are believed to symbolise wealth and high positions in a career.
If you’ve wondered why we bring oranges when we go visiting, it’s because they are symbols for abundant happiness.
Red packets, “hong pao”, “laisee” or “lishi” given from the married to the unmarried symbolise good luck and protection. Some also believe red packets are a sign of prosperity.
The most interesting discovery I’ve made is why we celebrate Chinese New Year. Legends from long ago suggest that there was a fierce man-eating creature called the Nian. This beast was actually a sea-dwelling creature which would emerge during the eve of Chinese New Year to devour humans and their live-stock. This fearsome creature however was sensitive to the colour red, fireworks and loud noices thus these were used in abundance during the period to ward off this evil. To protect children from the Nian, they were given red paper.
Another version of the legend has it that the Nian had a body of a bull and the head of a lion. It would be terribly hungry during this period as it had little to eat all winter long. Villagers, in an effort to chase the Nian, stayed up all night one year. They lit fires in front of their houses and made lots of noise as the hour came when the Nian usually appeared. This terrified the Nian and it ran away, never to be seen again. The villagers were so happy they celebrated for days after thus the tradition of staying up on Chinese New Year eve and the subsequent celebrations.
So these are the things I thought I’d share this CNY. Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and thanks for visiting my blog. Virtual oranges and red-packets are accepted. 
