Have a fruitful year

They were all over the place — on the front desk; in taxis; in temple offerings; in the newspaper bag that the hotel staff religiously left every morning outside rooms; even on the floor, just outside doors; on the tree next to the lift (how do they grow a fruit tree in a pot, I wondered).

One member of our group was personally handed those.

And I wondered why I wasn't given any, till I found them sitting on top of the television in my room. Oranges.

Why, you ask? It's an ancient Chinese New Year ritual, to show respect to those you give the fruit to.

Nature's glory

Here, in Singapore, spring is announced by every bud, twig and bird and even the lanterns lining the roads.

The glory of nature ushers in the year of the Rat for the Chinese the world over.

Chinese New Year or Chun Jie (meaning Spring Festival) celebrates the arrival of spring and a fresh start to life.

And we were in Singapore to welcome it, as guests of the Singapore Tourism Board.

The celebrations began a couple of days before the New Year with the Singapore River Hongbao.

This annual event has been part of the celebrations in Singapore since 1987.

Bathed in a red-and-gold glow from the hundreds of traditional lanterns and large-scale displays of popular Chinese mythical characters — including the 12 Chinese zodiac animals — a wishing tree and a 20-metre high “god of fortune'', the Esplanade Park exhibits Chinese traditions and culture till today.

Performance treat

Visitors like us were treated to performances by a 35-member Tibetan troupe, a Taiwanese acrobatic troupe and a Chinese orchestra, which performed every night.

As this is the Year of the Rat, Disney's Mickey and Minnie Mouse find a special place in the celebrations.

Huge lanterns, in the shape of Mickey, Minnie and their friends, lined the streets of Chinatown.

An exclusive and limited edition of Mickey and Minnie plush toys were up for grabs around the city and on the internet.

The next night, on the eve of the New Year, the Eu Tong Sen Street, New Bridge Road and South Bridge Road in Chinatown were filled with revellers feasting on traditional roadside fare and receiving “gold coins'' from the “god(s) of fortune''.

I too stretched out my hand to receive one.

The “god'' looked at me curiously, holding back the coin, then changed his mind and gave it to me.

We left the crowds behind to take our seats near the stage where various Singaporean and Chinese artistes performed.

The countdown begins

Lion and dragon dancers entertained the crowd for some three hours before the countdown began.

Rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat went off the firecrackers — from one end of the street to the other — like machine gun shots, interspersed with the boom of the fireworks and falling confetti, fired from huge canons.

Enveloped in a cloud of smoke and noise from the crackers, I tried to capture the moment with my little camera, while the performers on the stage and the crowds joined the lion dancers to ring in the New Year.

The celebrations will culminate with the Yuan Xiao Jie or the Lantern Festival tomorrow, and the Chingay Parade of DreamS, happening today.

Meaning “the art of masquerade'', it is one of the largest street parades in Asia.

Huge human-powered floats and costumed performers display the multicultural heritage of Singapore.

It felt odd to have rung in the New Year twice this year.

And I wish I were eligible for one of those pretty hongbaos (red packets, see box).

But, what the heck! Here's a hongbao to all of you — Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year) and Gung Hay Fat Choy! (May prosperity be with you).

Routing the monster ... Legend and tradition

The Spring Festival is also called Nian, after the legend of the Nian monster.

At the beginning of the first month of the lunar calendar, the monster would come down from the mountains to hunt villagers.

To conquer this monster, the people would beat drums and gongs, burn bamboo and light firecrackers to scare it away.

In the days leading up to the Chinese New Year, you will find many residents cleaning their homes — the belief being that if the home is dirty when the New Year arrives, the bad luck from last year is carried forward to the next.

This is the time to celebrate family ties.

Parties come after a reunion dinner, where family members, spanning generations, get together for a feast on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

During the 15-day celebration, everyone visits the homes of friends and relatives.

Dressed in new clothes, visitors come bearing well wishes and gifts.

While elders and revered ones are presented two oranges with both hands, children receive hongbaos or “red packets''.

These are given only to children and adults who are not married.

These red packets are filled with new dollar bills and represent good fortune for the coming year.

Also, the guests are presented two oranges by the host.

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.
Platter full of prosperity

Yu Sheng salad

As part of our New Year celebrations, we had our “reunion lunch'' at the Shang Palace restaurant at Shangri-La Hotel.

Apart from the other delicacies and a galaxy of Chinese tea, we were served a traditional dish that we had to toss as high as we could to bring us greater good luck and prosperity.

Though ours was a vegetarian version, due to yours truly being a vegetarian herself, the real thing is quite interesting, too.

We share the Yu Sheng tradition with you:

Yu Sheng is a salad of paper-thin raw fish, finely shredded fresh vegetables, candied melon and citrus, red-and-white pickled ginger, pomelo flesh, sesame seeds, lime leaf, crispy crackers and peanuts dressed in plum sauce, oil and spices.

This salad is traditionally eaten on the seventh day of the new year (though now people eat it all through the 15 days).

Diners toss the salad together with their chopsticks, shouting lo hei (toss up) and wish for abundance and prosperity before eating it.

Yu Sheng began in China with plain raw fish and a few types of vegetables.

In the 1950s, four Singapore chefs added more types of colourful vegetables to make it look more appealing.

It was then popularised as a “rising abundance'' dish and a “must-have'' during the Lunar New Year.

Go there ... Singapore ... From the UAE

From Dubai

Package includes return economy class flight on Emirates; 4 nights stay in a deluxe double room on twin sharing basis at Four Seasons Hotel with breakfast; return airport transfers.
Fare from Dh6,310

Singapore Airlines flies daily.
Fare from Dh2,020

— Information courtesy: Dnata Holidays. Ph: 800 8118