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Chinese New Year Traditions Fact & Fiction Part D |
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Peculiar practices abound over Chinese New Year Traditions such as wearing red,
avoiding the broomstick, gambling into the wee hours, tossing yusheng and hanging banners
upside down. How many of them are authentic and actually originated in China? |
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Fact: No sweeping or cutting of hair
The minute the clock strikes midnight to herald the first day of Chinese New Year, there is a
strict taboo against sweeping the floor or cutting one's hair.
It is believed that good fortune arrives at every household at the stroke of midnight. And
sweeping or cutting one's hair symbolises carelessly throwing your luck away. In fact, one
should not even go anywhere near a broom.
It is also ill-advised to quarrel or mention death in any form as it attracts ill fortune.
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To follow tradition to a T, rubbish should be kept in the house until the third day of Chinese
New Year, when it finally becomes acceptable to dispose of the trash.
And to be really safe, one should only consider getting a haircut after the 15th day of the
Chinese New Year, which is officially the last day of the celebrations. |
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Fiction: Munching on bak kwa
Bak Kwa (barbecued pork) is a Hokkien delicacy.
It originated from Fujian province, where the people were very poor and where meat was a
festive treat reserved for the Chinese New Year.
To make the treat last longer, the pork was sliced thinly, marinated with sugar and spices,
air-dried and cooked over a hot plate. |
When the delicacy made its way to Singapore and Malaysia, it evolved into more fatty minced
pork-constituted slices or a leaner but tougher sliced pork version.
Both versions in Singapore are air-dried, then grilled over charcoal, and they taste much
sweeter and smokier than the genuine article.
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Fiction: Eating Yu Sheng
This raw fish salad has been the speciality of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province for
centuries. But the real McCoy is eaten there all year round, not just during Chinese New Year.
It is also a lot more pared-down and less colourful than the Singaporean version, the real
version has lightly tossed peanuts, ginger strips, spring onions, soy sauce, lime juice and
oil, with raw fish placed on top.
When Cantonese immigrants to Singapore brought the dish here in the 1940s, they liked eating it
during Chinese New Year as more family members could be roped in to help with the tossing.
Along the way, they also jazzed it up by introducing a riot of colourful flavours ?
carrots, red and green-dyed radish strips, sweet plum sauce and can-died orange peel ? as well as
the high drama of tossing the ingredients while shouting out New Year wishes.
The use of salmon, only started about 10 years ago, in tandem with the rise in popularity of
Japanese sushi. Before that, the more ubiquitous ikan parang was used.
Today, the yusheng ritual practised by Singaporeans is virtually unheard of in China,
Hong Kong and Taiwan except maybe in a handful of Chinese restaurants in international hotels
which have introduced it as a gimmick in recent years.
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