IT'S THE YEAR OF THE OX! GONG XI FA CAI!

This is an example of what the "hong bao" packets look like. Children and single adults receive these packets of money during Chinese New Year. It is also customary to give hong bao packets to those who provide service to you in any way.

2009 is the YEAR OF THE OX!

Ringing in the New Year, Chinese-Style

Chinese New Year, a 15 day celebration of the new year according to the lunar calendar, is the most important festival of the Chinese culture and a huge occasion in Singapore. The new year is greeted with much rejoicing and celebration, and seen as a chance to put the past behind and start afresh, with new hopes for prosperity, health, and luck. Most Chinese families are busy with cleaning and decorating their homes and shopping for special foods such as waxed ducks, Chinese sausages, mandarin oranges and traditional cakes and biscuits. On Chinese New Years Eve the very important main event is the "family reunion dinner". Oranges and tangerines are exchanged between hosts and guests, symbolizing gold and luck. Parents give their children red packets of money, called "hong bao". It is considered good luck for the children to stay late and herald in the New Year. Chinese New Years Day is a time to reaffirm ties with family and friends. Some offer prayers to deities and ancestors. The first two days of the 15 day celebration are spent visiting relatives and feasting. Usually clothes are new and in auspicious colors of red, pink or gold. Red scrolls and banners bearing the greetings "Gong Xi Fa Cai" which means "wishing you great prosperity" decorate homes and businesses. Many homes will bear the Chinese sign "Fu" which means luck. It may even be hung upside down in the belief that good luck will come upon the household. During this time unlucky words are not spoken and brooms are not used to avoid sweeping away the good luck. Most businesses resume by the third day yet the festivities continue until the 15th night. Lion dances outside businesses are staged by troupes of young men and women who don the traditional lion costume and perform an age-old dance to accompanying drum and cymbal clashes. Special dishes are served throughout the festival including "Yu Sheng", a raw fish salad which symbolizes prosperity and abundance. Once placed on the table, everyone gathers around the table and digs in with their chopsticks, tossing the salad high - the higher you toss, the better your luck!

This is what Chinatown looks like during Chinese New Year

Store fronts have lots of things for sale!

Check out these waxed ducks, chinese sausages and dried fish

Saw this sign posted in Chinatown. Singapore has a very low crime rate and they are not afraid to use the death penalty. People are hanged on Friday mornings in Singapore.

I love the Chinese lanterns and got carried away taking pictures of them!

This is what happens after drinking beer at a Chinese karaoke bar. Shelby and his friends Alan and Don tired of Chinatown and found a pub off the beaten path. Don't they look cute in their tiaras? :)

Kasey is becoming a professional shopper in Chinatown

Aren't the lanterns fun?

Alan took this photo of our family and the Burkett family, including Donna's mother Virgie who was here visiting from the Houston area, and Kasey's friend Kat.

Wesley shot pool while the dads drank beer at the Chinese karaoke bar

Alan, Shelby and Don trying to reach their happy place!

Kasey with friends Lacy and Kat (before the dads took their tiaras!)

Kasey and Kat getting friendly with Buddha

Check out this lucky Bamboo plant!

On the streets of Chinatown at dusk

Red is everywhere!

This guy was hawking some housewares - check out the hair!

Mandarin oranges are a symbol of wealth and prosperity. When you are invited into a Chinese home, you are supposed to take two oranges to them and you usually receive two oranges in return (NOT the same oranges though!)

CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE!!!

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090116/tap-794-uncommon-strong-winds-singapore-231650b.html

Click on the above link to read the latest about the windy conditions in Singapore. We are experiencing milder than normal temperatures, windy conditions (which are uncommon in Singapore), and lower humidity than normal - which is AWESOME!!! from my point of view-but some of the locals are complaining about the "cold weather"! hahaha The temperature dropped to 24 degrees Celsius, which is 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The mornings and evenings actually feel nice outside for a change. Most of the locals live in public housing called HDB's(Housing Development Board). They are high-rise apartments and they are all over Singapore since land is so scarce. On any given day, you can look up to see laundry hanging out of the windows or over the balconies on bamboo poles. One lady commented that on the positive side, her laundry is getting dried much faster with the high winds! We are nearing the end of monsoon season, and it has actually been quite dry; thank goodness!

SIGHTSEEING IN SINGAPORE

The Esplanade-Theatre on the Bay opened in October 2002. It is fashioned after the Sydney Opera House and is known locally as "The Durian" building because the spiky domes resemble halves of durian shells (a local fruit)

The Merlion is Singapore's half-lion, half-fish national symbol, the lion representing Singapore's roots as the "Lion City" and the fish representing the nation's close ties to the sea. The Merlion spouts continuously every day at the mouth of the Singapore River.

The art of Chinese calligraphy is very much alive in Singapore. This craftsman is painting scrolls for the Chinese New Year celebration.

When I asked him what the scroll says, he said it is "good fortune and prosperity", just like everything else!

The craftsman places his seal on the scroll when it is finished

The Raffles Hotel was built in 1887 and is a landmark in Singapore. It is the home of the infamous drink, the Singapore Sling. Many tourists go to the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel to experience the old world charm (as well as the drink!)

This photo was taken overlooking one of the courtyards within the Raffles Hotel.

MCDONALD'S MCCAFE OFFERS MCDELIVERY!

Be sure and bring in the New Year with a "Mega Prosperity Burger" from a McDonald's McCafe.
They McDeliver the order to your home on a motorscooter! Make that a McMotorscooter.



It is all about ushering in the Year of the Ox with prosperity and good fortune.

Did I ever mention that the cans of soft drinks are smaller here? They are only 11 ounces instead of 12 ounces. What's up with that? And at McDonald's there are no refills! Period!

You're lucky if you get ice in your drink. I will say that the french fries are the same, thank goodness! They offer chili sauce in addition to ketchup.

WALKING TOUR OF LITTLE INDIA IN SINGAPORE

It is not unusual to walk down the streets in Little India and see offerings of flowers being placed onto statues by the devotees.

I just had to include a photo of MUSTAFA'S, which is a 7 floor store in Little India that carries everything from food to luggage to gold chains and bath items. My friend likened it to "a Walmart on drugs". It is open 24 hours a day and is so busy and so crowded you cannot even push a shopping cart down the aisles! We spent six hours in there and came out alive...!

Photo taken of one of the temples in Little India

Inside the temple, one of the devotees lay face down to pray

This is one of the head haunchos inside the temple. They are the only ones who can enter the inner room(back behind him) and take the people's offerings, where they are blessed. He then comes out and blesses the person. As is the true inquisitive nature of women, we were innocently wondering whether or not these fellas were wearing anything under their wrapped towels? (shame on us!) Our question was quickly answered after he turned around to walk back up the steps, and his towel became caught in his butt cheeks! :)

Check out the statue in the background! How many appendages does this "god" have?

This is what it looks like inside the temple (zoom in)

People would stop and pray to this statue too. They cut limes in half and scoop out the insides and fill them with oil to burn. The flower garlands really are pretty.

Outside the BIG temple in LITTLE India

Kasey and her friend Lacy liked the tour except for all the walking!

Kasey volunteered to be the model for the sarees that the Indian women wear. The fabric is about 6 meters long and has to be draped around and tucked in at the waist. Notice the dot on her forehead! The color of the dot is used to reveal their marital status. Red is supposed to mean they are married, while a black dot means they are single. It seems to me that this would cut to the chase for single people who are looking for a partner and eliminate a lot of what ifs!!!!

By the way, Kasey chose a PINK dot to coordinate with her saree. The shopowner said that a lot of the young girls are choosing colored dots to be more fashionable. Okay that would really confuse the male species, now wouldn't it?

I think we should send this photo to Vogue magazine! :)

Kasey and her friend both got henna tattoos on their hands, which is what a lot of the young Indian women do, especially in preparation for their wedding ceremony. They can be quite elaborate!

Flower stalls were abundant in Little India. They are used as offerings at the temples.

Fruit stalls lined the streets. Some of these fruits and vegetables I have never seen or heard of before! Some of them they claimed to be aphrodisiacs. (no I did not buy any!) There were also little shops that sold spices, and they would grind the whole spices for you. Between the pungent spices and the smell of curry food stalls everywhere, it was quite the experience for my olfactory glands! We also saw lots and lots of gold for sale, as well as silks and pashmina shawls and beautiful table linens. Indians love gold because it symbolizes purity. Young Indian girls are given gold pieces at birth and every year thereafter for just about any and every occasion up until their wedding, so that they can save it in the event that they someday find themselves widowed, at which point they can pawn their jewelry if they choose.

This poster was just across the street from Mustafa's. Anyone interested in a free meditation class? Vegetarian food will be served! :)