Symbols and Sights of Chinese New Year

Keegan Oppenheim

Chinese New Year is a traditional and festive holiday. It is well known for its family gatherings, traditional dishes, red envelopes (ang pao) and dozens of other iconic symbols.

Few of these symbols are as exciting as the illegal fireworks; they are, unfortunately, quite distracting for students all over Penang, especially those who are trying to write articles for school. However, the average student in Penang receives a relaxing break from school because of Chinese New Year. Well, not necessarily relaxing, but it is a break from school. 

Unlike the Western New Year, Chinese New Year is celebrated for over two weeks. A holiday like this can’t go unnoticed on the school calendar. Even with two days taken off from school, some students are still absent for the first few days back. As many can assume, Chinese New Year is a holiday marking the beginning of the next year, however it is more than just the Chinese who celebrate this holiday. Chinese New Year is celebrated in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and, of course, Malaysia.

 Regardless of where the celebration is, Chinese New Year calls for family to come together and simply spend time with one another.  A typical family reunion at Chinese New Year involves lots of food. As a teenage guy, I've heard the phrase "I ate so much!" quite a lot; but Chinese New Year brings this phrase to another level. Meals are basically the main event at Chinese New Year, so as you can imagine that there’s a lot of time and work going on in the kitchen around this time. It can actually take days to prepare all the meals for the celebration.

For those who don't experience the big family dinners, there are still plenty of others parts of Chinese New Year. One of my favorite concepts, especially since it is not found in the Western culture, is the Zodiac. Each year has its Zodiac animal. For example, this past year was the year of the goat, which then transitioned over to the year of the monkey. You can find more about this online by just searching Chinese Zodiac. 

Another theme in Chinese New Year is the color red and how it's associated with luck. There are so many different aspects in Chinese New Year. Obviously, you can't experience the delicious flavors of traditional foods or vibrant colors of fireworks by reading about them. So next Chinese New Year go out and experience it for real. It's not like it doesn't happen every year.