Auspicious Wishes

The Lion Dancers arrive

Unloading the drums Our wise calligrapher
Ready to put ink to paper
Prosperity (as far as I know)
Sophia holding tight to the prospect of prosperity...

Back to work after the long 4 day CNY holiday. While most everyone (except our airconditioner repair guy) is back at work, the holiday continues.

This past weekend wherever Sophia and I went we heard drums and symbols. This meant there was a Lion Dance taking place nearby.

During the regular year these teams appear at public events and at the openings of stores. During CNY they are everywhere. The lion dance is a tradition that brings good luck to the households or businesses they visit. The dramatic climax of the dance is the Cai Qing or ‘Picking the Green’, where the lion ‘eats’ and then ‘spits’ the leaves out, signifying an abundance of everything in the coming year.

Here in Singapore there must be dozens of Lion Dance teams. They travel through town in flat bed trucks flanked with large brightly colored flags. The kids on the teams are ususlly dresssed in very bright clothes. The troupe includes drummers, cymbol smashers, the lions (usually two person teams) and a bunch of handlers. Last week we saw a team at the Newton Hawker Centre where we were eating.http://www.the-inncrowd.com/newtoncircus.htm They cruised in, got on their gear and proceeded to dance around the stalls followed by the local Member of Parliament, who was handing out two oranges (a CNY symbol of respect) and a paper fish mobile (It symbolizes surplus or having additional savings so as to have more than enough to live throughout the remaining year).

http://www.weijin.org/

http://www.stamfordlion.com.sg/home.asp

http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/3517

We also saw a troup at the Singapore Art Museum on Friday. We arrived at the museum and were presented with a nice red tote bag containing two oranges. They had a couple of caligraphers who were writing CNY couplets or slogans. We commissiond a small one that should help us have a prosperous year.

Thoughout the weekend the drums and symbols could be heard wherever we ventured. The celebration continues for another week.

Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

It's the year of the Rat!  While most readers are in the US or other places outside of Asia, I am here enjoying my two days off for CNY.  It's nice and quiet in Singapore, a rare treat.  Many shops and restaurants are closed and construction work even stopped for a few hours.

Here is some good Rat info:

http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/2008.htm

Every year there is a special CNY song.  It is recorded by many groups and played over and over again throughout the season.  The M-Girls are a popular Malaysian Chinese girl group.   http://www.mymgirls.com

I thought you might enjoy their rendition.  The first song is the official 2008 song, the rest is a colorful medley of M-Girl festive tunes.  This is sure to give you a C-Pop overdose.  (I did not film this)-

Cool your Dogs on Hot Coals

Demetra, Sophia, Myrna and Ronak looking for hot coals to walk on
Even Ronak knows Ganesha
I wore my team India cricket shirt to blend in with the crowd.
You want to stay on this Deity's good side!
A last look at one of the alters before heading home.

A few weeks ago, as part of the Deepavali season here in Singapore, the Hindu Thimithi Festival (http://events.skyteam.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=62781) took place at the Sri Mariamman Temple. (http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/post/singapore/arts/architecture/srimar/1.html)

Myrna and I happened upon it last year and missed the coal walking so this year we had a plan. Sophia, Myrna, and me along with work friends Ronak Patel and Demetra Merikas started the evening out with a really tasty Nepalese dinner at a restaurant called Ghorka in Chinatown. (http://www.streetdirectory.com/restaurants/singapore/reviews/restaurant-Gorkha_Grill-1884.php ) The food was really good - Momo appetisers (small filled samosas), great mutton and really fine naan, all washed down with cold Kingfisher beers.

After dinner we wandered over to the temple, which is about three blocks away. The paper said the fire walking was Monday with festivities starting early and the actual walking taking place quite late. As we walked towards the Temple entrance we were able to see that there was a big crowd inside. You see, everyone needs to remove their shoes before entering and there were about 500 pairs of sandals and other assorted footwear all over the sidewalk on both sides of the large doors. We deposited our shoes in the pile and went in. there was a lot of activities but not hot coals or burnt footed devotees. While Ronak, our Hindu expert, was misidentifying the various statues of well known Hindu deities, I found some guys to ask when the walking was set to begin. Sadly, the men who I asked laughed and said that the walking took Place at about 2AM that morning. I guess it was actually Monday, but as usual the local paper, Sraits Times, was a little vague in their description of the exact timing.

We hung around the temple for a while soaking in the ambiance and soon headed our separate ways. Well, at least we had a good dinner that night!

Lighting up Moon Festival

Clare show us her Piggy lantern
Clare and her Mom, Mabel
She loves to smile for the camera!
"And I get a cool toy just for stopping in!"
Grandma and Grandma had fun too.

The other night our little neighbor Clare stopped by with her Mid Autumn Moon Festival lantern in hand. She and her Mom and Grandparents stopped in for tea and Mooncakes as they walked the neighborhood with their lanterns.

http://www.kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/orchardroad.htm

Sophia and I had done a little Mooncake shopping the day before. There was a huge set up at the Takashimaya grand court with Mooncakes from many different places. First we sampled about 20 different kinds from different vendors. The cakes taste from very good to very nasty. The packaging is amazing though. We went for the local yam paste crispy cakes and green snowskin cakes from one place and the more traditional double lotus paste variety from the Dragon Phoenix restaurant. http://wineanddine.asiaone.com/Wine%252CDine+%2526+Unwind/Features/Topics/Story/A1Story20070924-26762.html

http://www.dragonphoenix.com.sg/home/

Clare had two lanterns, one traditional and one in the shape of a pig (it is still the year of the pig you know). Her Mom and Grandparents had nice lanterns too. Her new brother victor was not able to make the trip but that was even better for Clare because she likes to be the center of attention. We gave her a little ball that lights up when it bounces and it amused her for at least the time she was at the house.

The festival is winding down but it is one of my favorites. We are also in the middle of Ramadan and the holiday ends with the Hari Raya festival on the 13th.

http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/apps/event_detail.html?pageName=DailyEvent&buttom=detail&eid=7843&eventType=1

Most Muslims fast every day from sunrise to sunset and I see many people in the office participating. The good news about this month long fast is that we can always get a seat at noontime in the Halal Food Court in the mall next to the office.http://lifestylewiki.com/Banquet_Food_Court

Mmmm nothing like some Halal Singapore faves with no worry about finding a place to sit....

Mid Autumn Festival

Puff the magic dragon - and friends
Looks better at night.
The mythical Chinese guys are watching over things.

Mid Autumn Festival is upon us here in Singapore (and all over Asia). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival

http://www.kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival/

I can feel fall in the air. Here in Singapore temperatures have plummeted from highs of 93 to highs around 92 and the summer flowers are giving way to the fall flowers. It rains a bit more then last month and then the sun comes out and dries the puddles in about 5 minutes. The locals have started to wear their winter clothes often times actually wearing long sleeved shirts and closed toe shoes. Iced coffee has given way to hot coffee. And of course lanterns and moon cakes are everywhere.

First the moon cakes. According to one Chinese folk tale, a Han Chinese rebel leader named Liu Fu Tong devised a scheme to arouse the Han Chinese to rise up against the ruling Mongols to end the oppressive Yuan dynasty. He sought permission from Mongolian leaders to give gifts to friends as a symbolic gesture to honor the longevity of the Mongolian emperor.
These gifts were round moon cakes. Inside, Liu had his followers place pieces of paper with the date the Han Chinese were to strike out in rebellion -- on the fifteenth night of the eighth month.

Thus Liu got word to his people, who when they cut open the moon cakes found the revolutionary message and set out to overthrow the Mongols, thus ending the Yuan dynasty.
Today, far from the exotic and heroic legends, Chinese communities all over the world make and consume moon cakes during the traditional autumn Festival.

In my opinion most of the varieties of moon cakes are rather dense and pretty bad tasting. Made with lotus paste and many egg yolks. Not quite as bad as fruit cake but in the same ballpark. I am told that there is much re-gifting going on in the moon cake world. It is a lucrative business - everybody sells them from all the nice hotels (Shangri-La, Ritz-Carlton, Raffles), the mid and lower level hotels, bakers, restaurants even Starbucks and Hagen Daz. While the taste is kind of bad the packaging is really pretty elaborate and beautiful.

The other big thing is lanterns. All over town you see lanterns and lights. Chinatown is done up with beautiful light up wonders of the world and the famous Chinese Garden has an "under the sea" theme. We haven't gotten to see it all yet but will report more on this later.

Ciao