Chinese New Year marks the most sublime festivities known in Singapore, which reunite families and friends and the city bursts into a great revelry. So, let's see what you should expect and how to plan your trip in the best possible way!
History
Chinese New Year, sometimes referred to as Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, is without a doubt the most significant occasion in the Chinese calendar. Traditionally, it was a time to commemorate both ancestors and traditional deities.
Chinese New Year Traditions
Lunar New Year is more than just a contemporary holiday–it has deep cultural significance, and colors play a huge role in this. For example, red is considered to be the lucky color in Chinese culture, and it's definitely the one of the season. Locals usually spend Chinese New Year visiting friends, family, and loved ones–all the while dressed in vibrant red attire. Children and younger relatives receive hong bao, which are scarlet paper packets, stuffed with cash.
Food at the festival
The celebration is all about colourful symbolic processions, lion dances, red decorations, crimson festive dressings and scarlet present wrappages, lots of mandarines, seasonal markets, dainties, and a plenty of merriments in the streets.
The season offers a unique opportunity to feast on such mouth-watering specialties as buttery pineapple tarts, prune lapis or spiced cake, rolled egg biscuits with a lovely name "crisp love letters" and coconut cookies known as kueh bangkit.
In addition to traditional Lunar New Year's sweets, you may also savor spicy shrimp rolls and sweet pork jerky named 'bak kwa'. Chinese New Year is celebrated between late January and mid-February, it is also referred to as Spring Festival.
