“Gong xi fa cai! Hong Bao na lai?!”
My local friend promptly burst out laughing. “Happy new year to you too… but… do you know that you just asked me for gift money?” She said, with tears in her eyes. I had assumed that this was the standard way to greet people for Chinese New Year. Furthermore, I had repeated the greeting to every Chinese Singaporean I had interacted with, including my professor. Apparently, I had just committed my first faux pas in the year of the dog.
Chinese New Year is one of the biggest festivals in Singapore and is often celebrated with family reunions, food, and Hong Bao. Hong Bao translates to ‘red envelope’ in English and is often synonymous with the cash gifts or “lucky money” that is gifted in the envelopes. During Chinese New Year, family members, friends, and colleagues exchange these packets of lucky money. In most cases, it is the elders or married couple who give the Hong Bao to younger or unmarried people. Sometimes, children may gift Hong Bao to their elderly relatives. My local friend told me that saying “Hong boo na lai” or “Give me the red packet, please” is a very cheeky way of asking for the money. This greeting is generally reserved for greeting close acquaintances and friends.
“Don’t say that to an aunty you don’t know lah” she warned me. “Or maybe you should ah! You are a foreigner, you can get away with it.”
A few weeks before the Chinese New year, red decorations start popping up everywhere in Singapore. The red color is considered to be lucky in Chinese culture. Thus, complicated red paper cuttings of traditional characters for luck and prosperity are stuck on doors and windows. One of my local friends even changes all her bed covers and pillow covers to the festive red and gold.
Singapore’s Chinatown becomes a hotbed of activity during this period. Red Chinese lanterns adorn the crowded streets of Chinatown and local artists hold various performances in the neighborhood. In addition to the restaurants and hawker center food stalls, stalls sell marinated meats; sausages; cakes and other traditional new year delicacies including Mandarins.
Mandarin oranges are symbols of prosperity and good luck. In Singapore, many families place Mandarins on their tables during the new year. Furthermore, many people also exchange Mandarin oranges as gifts while visiting family and friends. It is also common to see wishes tied to the oranges and strung on trees.
Singapore is mostly closed on the first two days of Chinese New Year. Most shops and eating places close by late afternoon and locals tend to travel to their homes for “reunion dinners”. On the first two days of Chinese New Year, even the canteens and food courts in my university were closed. Plan ahead with regards to food, unless you want to be stuck eating McDonald's delivery or Burger King for the first two days of Chinese New Year.
While most businesses operate as normal after the first two days, the new year festivities last for nearly fifteen days. In Singapore, this not only means being able to gorge on buttery pineapple tarts but also see firecrackers and enjoy cultural parades that are touted as the “Mardi-gras” of southeast Asia.
However, in its essence, Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. Many Chinese Singaporean families offer prayers to their ancestors and even invite them to join their festivities. Families and friends also bond over watching the special new performances and playing Chinese board games. According to one of my local friends, Mahjong is a particularly popular activity during the Chinese New Year.
“We love to gamble!” She said when I asked her what is the one thing that Chinese Singaporeans do for Chinese New Year. “I won a lot of money by placing bets on my family's Mahjong games this year!”