Happy Lunar New Year 2023

Tomorrow is the Lunar New Year (Jan 22nd 2023) and many of us are all geared up to usher in the Year of the Water Rabbit (癸卯).

 

Some of us may still be busy with last minute shopping whilst others are already back in their hometowns with their family for the customary reunion dinner tonight.

Technically it is still the Year of the Water Tiger (壬寅) as the first day of the Year of the Water Rabbit occurs on Li Chun (立春 - Beginning of Spring) which falls on February 4th.

 

 Wishing all my readers a Happy Lunar New Year!

Li Chun 2022 - The Start of the Water Tiger Year

Li Chun (立春), which is one of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese calendar, is the day when the Sun enters 315^o longitude and marks the Beginning of Spring in the traditional Chinese calendar.

Furthermore it is also the beginning of the new Chinese horoscope year (which is the 壬寅 - Water Tiger this year) and not on the date of the Lunar New Year as many people think it is.

Li Chun usually falls on the 3rd or 4th of February in the Gregorian calendar, and whilst it can occur, it is a rare occurrence for the Lunar New Year date to coincide on the same day with Li Chun (e.g. in 2038, and 2087 the Lunar New Year date coincides with Li Chun for that year). So the Ren Yin (壬寅) Water Tiger year of 2022 actually starts today at 4.50am.

Egg Balancing on Li Chun: There is a myth that eggs can be easily balanced on the broad end on this day due to electromagnetic forces etc. coming together on this particular day. In reality it is just a myth and it has been studied that eggs can be balanced on the broader end on any day of the year. All you need to do is to make the shell have at least three contact points with a flat surface (due to the imperfections present on the shell) whilst keeping the centre of mass of the egg within the area that is defined by those three points.

 

Wishing all a Happy Water Tiger Year 2022!

Happy Lunar New Year 2022 - Wishing All A Roaring Tiger Year

Tomorrow is the Lunar New Year (Feb 1st) and whilst it may be Chinese New Year to some and Tet Nguyen Dan to others, the coming lunar year is the Year of the Tiger.

Technically for the Chinese calendar, it isn't the Year of the Water Tiger (壬寅) as yet as the year actually changes on the solar calendar term Li Chun (立春 - Beginning of Spring) which falls on February 4th. However most people are unaware of it and would consider the lunar new year date as the start of the Tiger year.

So here's to the tail end of the Cow year and wishing all a good head start for the Tiger Year...

新年快乐, 瑞虎丰年!

Happy Hokkien New Year - Jade Emperor's Birthday

The Jade Emperor's Birthday falls on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year and for the Hokkien community it is regarded as their New Year. This year it falls on the 20th of February 2021 and in places where there are a large number of Hokkiens eg. Penang, this is usually a bigger and grander celebration than the first day of the Lunar New Year!

 

Usually families will prepare an altar for worshiping the Jade Emperor on the night of the eve of the festival (night of the 8th day of Lunar New Year) and when midnight comes, the prayers and festivities will commence, together with setting off fireworks and firecrackers to usher in their new year.

Devotees praying to the Jade Emperor inside the main
shrine of the Jade Emperor Temple in Air Itam, Penang.

For those that have neither the space nor the convenience to do the prayers at their place of residence, they would usually go to temples or to communal altars set up by the local community to worship the Jade Emperor together. In Penang, the Chew Jetty is one of those famous places where the communal worship of Jade Emperor on his birthday is practiced.

Alas, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, public celebrations have been cancelled this year and people can only do small scale prayers at home. Hence it was a pretty muted affair this year. Hopefully next year the festival will be back to being celebrated on a grand scale.

Happy Hokkien New Year!!

The 'Niu' Year...

Today is he 1st day of the Lunar New Year, and even though the Year of the Metal Ox had officially started on Li Chun (Beginning of Spring - 3rd Feb in 2021), many still associate the Lunar New with the change of the animal horoscope and hence assume that the year of the Metal Ox has just begun - which is a misconception.

 

Since we are not allowed to travel about and there are no temple fairs to shoot, nor are there any open houses or lion dances happening in KL this year, I have resorted to shooting household stuff related to Chinese New Year, which resulted in this 'Niu' Year (牛 - the Ox) image that can be used as an e-greeting image. Have a Happy Chinese 'Niu' Year!

Wishing All A Healthy and Happy Chinese New Year 2021

Wishing all my readers a Happy Chinese New Year 2021. This year the lunar new year falls on 12th Feb 2021 and today being the eve of the Lunar New Year (除夕 - chú xī), it is customary for Chinese families to hold thanksgiving prayers today for their ancestors, and then followed by a family reunion dinner later in the evening before ushering in the new Lunar Year in a few hours time.

Unfortunately for us in Malaysia, this year's Chinese New Year celebration atmosphere is rather sombre as we are not allowed to travel across state or district and family reunion dinners are only allowed for family members within a 10km travel distance.

新年快乐, 身体健康, 万事如意!

In this difficult time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I would like wish everyone a good year ahead, stay safe and healthy always! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Lighting Up Kek Lok Si Temple for Chinese New Year

The lights of Kek Lok Si Temple in the blue hour during Chinese New Year

 

Come every Chinese New Year, the famous Kek Lok Si Temple (Temple of Supreme Bliss) in Air Itam, Penang will be lit with lanterns and LED lights, turning it into a sort of light display wonderland. This yearly tradition no doubt attracts a lot of tourist and photographers wanting to capture this beautiful light display.
 
The lights of the temple will come on with the following schedule:

• January 24 to February 8 2019 :  7.30pm till midnight
• February 9 to February 21 2019: 7.30pm till 10pm

 
In my opinion, the best times are during the blue hour, which last only 15min or so, plus at that time, the lights are just being turned on in stages, so you will probably have at most 10 mins to shoot the lights in the blue hour. It is best to go before dark and sort of scout out which angle you prefer, and you might need to go on several occasions to get a good sky. I was lucky to get some clouds this time around.

Parking space at this temple are available at three different levels, the first and the lowest actually consist of three tiers, and the entrance is just past the shops as you turn in to ascend the road up the hill. The second is a smaller car park with an entrance arch leading to the Goddess of Mercy Hall, and with a good view of the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas. The final parking area is somewhat limited and is located at the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin) statue area. If you park there, it is some distance up the hilly terrain and you would have to take the tram down to the main temple to view the main temple complex.

Divine prediction... Fire Watching at Penang Ban Ka Lan Snake Temple

Annually, on the 6th day of the Lunar New Year, the Penang Snake Temple host a fire watching ceremony as it is the patron deity Chor Soo Kong's birthday. The festivities start on the night of the 5th day of the Lunar New Year with various cultural performances and devotees will throng the temple to offer prayer to Chor Soo Kong on the eve of his birthday.

Getting them lit... Devotees throng to the Snake Temple to offer joss-sticks and candles on the
eve of Chor Soo Kong's birthday.

Deep in prayer...the never ending flow of devotees that come to pray to Chor Soo Kong on the
eve of his birthday.

As midnight approaches, an entourage will arrive with Taoist priest and a censer burner on a wooden carrier that will be placed in front of the deity on the main altar. After a short ceremony, joss sticks will be lit and passed to the committee members of the temple. These joss-sticks are then collected back after the members have offered their prayers and the tops snapped off and placed into the censer. The celebrant will then start the fanning until the embers burst into flames. The intensity, height and durability of this flame that is used as a prediction of Penang's quarterly economic state. This process will then be repeated two more times to obtain the prediction for the entire year.

When all three flames have been observed, the celebrant adds a sandalwood block and powder, and all present will rush forward to be blessed by the sandalwood smoke from the burner. When all inside have had their 'blessings', the censer and the carrier are taken out of the temple. There will then be other Chor Soo Kong temples who will also come with their censer in a carrier basket and perform the fire watching ceremony, which is usually used to predict their member's or organisation's luck in the coming year (as opposed to the entire state of Penang in the first one).

Flames that predict the economic well-being of Penang... the fire watching ceremony of
Penang Snake Temple.