Chinese New Year is a huge festival each year in Malaysia and we are going to let you know just what to do to make sure you are ready to celebrate with everyone else. The new year is a great time for locals as well as expats and a perfect opportunity to get involved and get to know the Chinese Malaysian community in your neighborhood.
So here are some of the basics that need to be done in order to be able to bring in the Lunar new year in 2020:
Cleaning time
The custom is to clean the house from top to bottom to get rid of all the bad luck gathered in the previous year so that you can start the new year fresh.
New Year Banners
Red and Gold banners are made and hung in the front of homes and business establishments. Red and Gold are lucky colors for the Chinese, red symbolizes vitality of life and happiness, gold represents wealth and prosperity.
Preparing food and get the knives out of sight
The grand New Year’s feast must be prepared days before the as popular Chinese New Year superstitions dictates that all knives must be put away. Using a knife during the first days of the New Year “cuts off” all the good luck for the coming year.
Flower Markets and Fairs
Everybody flocks to the markets to prepare gifts and decorate the house with the traditional lucky plants ie. Orange trees, lucky bamboos, branches of cherry blossoms etc.
Pay your respects
The New Year Celebrations can only begin after paying respect to the ancestors. On New Year’s Eve, people go to the temples and pray for good fortune for the new year. People from all walks of life visit temples to follow this tradition.
The New Year celebrations while a very festive time, is also a time to put the past behind you and have hope for the new year and what a new beginning can bring you in the coming months.
Happy New Year to each and every one of you and the Albaloo team wishes you good luck and prosperity in the year ahead.