The Chinese New Year in Singapore

Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival for Chinese around the world, and Chinese Singaporeans are no exception. In Singapore, the first two days of the lunar new year are public holidays. During these holidays, community associations (local community groups, clan associations etc.), families, and friends gather to celebrate the occasion and exchange well wishes. Many Chinese households take the opportunity to host friends from different ethnic backgrounds, underscoring the harmonious coexistence of diverse groups in Singapore. The lion dance — a ritualised performance known as cai qing, where the lion deftly snatches a sprig of greens — also stands out as one of the most beloved traditions locally and abroad.

Rituals before the new year

Six days before Chinese New Year, on the 24^th day of the 12^th lunar month, traditional Chinese households send off the Kitchen God in a ritual known as song zaojun or xiezao. This ritual is based on the belief that the Kitchen God returns to the heaven on this day. Families prepare these offerings in the hope that the Kitchen God will give a favourable account of them, ensuring blessings from the Jade Emperor. After the ritual, the family’s matriarch starts preparations for the upcoming celebrations. As is common in Chinese New Year customs, the names of these dishes often sound similar to auspicious phrases and blessings. In Cantonese households, typical festive foods include jiandui or fried dough balls coated in sesame seeds. (As the popular Cantonese saying goes, “with the rolling of the sesame balls, the house is filled with silver and gold”.) Another popular food is youjiao, a deep-fried dough ingot with a sweet filling (“the edible ingots bless the household with wealth”). Likewise, xiabing or prawn crackers signify happiness (“eat the jumbo prawn and be merry all day”).

On the eve of Chinese New Year, Chinese Singaporeans of all dialect groups celebrate the occasion by gathering for the reunion dinner and staying up late in the belief that this will bless the elders in the family with longevity. Each dialect group boasts its own unique delicacies. Among these are the Hakka caiban (vegetable dumplings), Hainanese yiba (sweet glutinous rice cakes), and Teochew steamed rabbit fish (commonly known as “prosperity fish”). Hotpot dinners have seen a surge in popularity these days, as they symbolically see families weilu or gather around the dining table. Some families opt to pre-order or get their festive meals catered, while others prefer to dine at restaurants. Following the dinner, it is customary to shop for festive treats at the bazaars or visit temples to pray for good fortune in the year ahead.

Fifteen days of Chinese New Year

On the first day of Chinese New Year, people dress in auspicious colour and visit family members’ homes — where they exchange festive greetings and pairs of mandarin oranges. In Singapore, it is customary for married people to give out red packets (or angpow in Hokkien) to their unmarried younger relatives. These contain an amount of money in an even number, which is considered lucky. With the proliferation of mobile and wireless technology, sending electronic greetings via messaging platforms has become a common practice too.

During the Chinese New Year period, for the traditionalists, certain taboos must be respected. Sweeping the floor on the first day is frowned upon, to prevent sweeping away the good luck of the new year. Should fragile items break, auspicious sayings are recited — “the dish has landed and bloomed; luck and abundance shall follow too” — to ward off bad luck. Also, the names of certain foods with negative connotations are dropped. The Cantonese community, in particular, swaps names or terms that sound unlucky with those that are highly positive. Words that convey the idea of, or sound similar to, “damage”, “dry”, and “defeat” are substituted with their auspicious-sounding counterparts — words that suggest being “smart”, “nourished”, and “victorious”. For instance, rather than using the Mandarin name for luffa, which might allude to “defeat”, the Cantonese name it the “victory gourd”. Similarly, the inauspicious-sounding terms for pig’s tongue and liver are replaced with terms implying “profit” and “nourishment” respectively. As blood is considered inauspicious during this festive season, pig’s blood is referred to as “pig red”.

The second day, also known as kainian, marks the commencement of the new year. A pair of mandarin oranges and a red packet filled with money are placed on the ground. They are then swept towards the door and back before being picked up. This ritual symbolises the act of cleansing the home of any lingering bad luck, while ensuring that wealth and prosperity remain. The second day is also traditionally set aside for married women to visit their parents’ homes and partake in a meal lovingly prepared by them.

In the past, many families celebrated kainian by preparing a meal of braised carp with ginger and spring onions. This custom is rooted in the carp’s symbolic ties to prosperity — as reflected in the popular saying, “the carp nods its head, and deposits gold and silver in your hands”. The connection draws on the similar pronunciations of the Chinese terms for “profit” and “carp”. The popular Chinese New Year greeting, nian nian you yu, which translates to “have a bountiful year”, also plays on the similar pronunciations of “fish” and “surplus” in Chinese. Some Chinese Singaporeans will pay respect to their ancestors before releasing live carp into water as a tribute to them. If the carp circles back before swimming away, this is read as an auspicious sign. It suggests that the person’s business will see a surge in returning customers, promising a year filled with prosperity.

The third day is known as Red Mouth Day (chikouri). It is believed that arguments are more likely to occur on this day. Many people therefore avoid scheduling new year visits and gatherings during this time. By the fourth day, the majority of Chinese businesses resume operations. Generous bosses might distribute red packets to their staff and treat them to a meal to commence the new year. Tradition holds that on this day, all the gods bid farewell to the Jade Emperor and return to the mortal world.

Legend holds that the seventh day (renri) is the day when human beings were created. Chinese Singaporeans celebrate by tossing up a special raw fish salad known as yusheng. As early as the 1930s, Tai Tong Restaurant served a “good fortune yusheng” (haoyun yusheng).  ¹In the 1960s, the flavours of traditional yusheng were enhanced by the “Four Heavenly Kings” or master chefs of Cantonese cuisine — Tham Yui Kai (1928–1996), Sin Leong, Hooi Kok Wai and Lau Yoke Pui (1932–2006) — who added colourful, crispy ingredients to the dish. Meanwhile, the Teochew community has a cherished custom of consuming food made from seven kinds of vegetables on renri. The vegetables typically include mustard greens, kailan, leek, Chinese cabbage, chard, spring greens, and Chinese celery. The medley of vegetables symbolises hope for fertile fields and abundance.

The ninth day, the Jade Emperor’s birthday, is an important festival for the Hokkien community. On this day, they make food offerings to the Jade Emperor with whole stalks of sugarcane taking centre stage. The sugarcanes are then burnt as a gesture of gratitude. The origins of this tradition are rooted in a Ming dynasty legend where Fujian province was under threat from pirates, and villagers took refuge in the sugarcane fields to escape the calamity. This gave birth to the tradition of thanking the Jade Emperor on the ninth day of Chinese New Year.

The 15^th day, which is known as Chap Goh Mei (in Hokkien), Lantern Festival, or yuanxiaojie, marks the last day of the festivities.

Mass celebrations

River Hongbao and Chingay Parade stand out as some of the mass celebrations that best capture Singapore’s unique culture.

In 1972, the Singapore government banned firecrackers for safety reasons. To keep up the festive atmosphere, the Chingay Parade was introduced the year after as a vibrant street parade with large-scale community participation. Held on the second weekend of Chinese New Year, this event has become an annual spectacle, drawing participation from international performance groups. The River Hongbao festival, meanwhile, was launched in 1987 by the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, with the goal of preserving and promoting Chinese traditions.

Chinese New Year is a time of feasting and merriment, but one can also imbue the festival with a deeper layer of meaning, for example by taking the chance to reflect and set goals for a better future.