Singapore River Hongbao 2009 - Chinese Pavilion

More lighted displays at the Singapore River Hongbao 2009. Everyone wanted to take photos of these beautiful displays.

There are many birds in in this cage. You have to click the photo to enlarge it.
Cute mandarin ducks. They are all made of paper and lighted by bulbs inside them.

Just a short video to show you the crowds taking photos.

Reri

Today is the seventh day of Chinese New Year which is renri, that is everyone's birthday. According to legend, it is this day that the goddess "Nuwa" created human beings after creating the world.



Before adding the above, there are some chants to make.

Step 1: All at the table offers New Year greetings.Words: Gong xi fa cai meaning "Congratulations for your wealth" or Wan shi ru yi meaning "May all your wishes be fulfilled".
Step 2: Fish, symbolising abundance or excess through the year, is added. Words: Nian nian you yu and You yu you sheng.
Step 3: The pomelo is added over the fish, adding both luck and auspicious value.Words: Da ji da li.Pepper is then dashed over the ingredients in the hope of attracting more money and valuables.Words: Zhao cai jin bao.Then oil is poured out, circling the ingredients to increase all profits 10,000 times and encouraging money to flow in from all directionsWords: Yi ben wan li and Cai yuan guang jin.
Step 4: Carrots are added to the fish indicating blessings of good luck.Words: Hong yun dang tou.Then the shredded green radish is placed on the fish symbolising eternal youth.Words: Qing chun chang zhu.After which the shredded white radish is added - prosperity in business and promotion at work.Words: Feng sheng shui qi and Bu bu gao sheng.
Step 5: The condiments are finally added. First, peanut crumbs are dusted on the dish symbolising a household filled with gold and silver. As an icon of longevity, peanuts also symbolise eternal youth.Words: Jin yin man wu.Sesame seeds quickly follow symbolising a flourishing business.Words: Sheng yi xing long. Deep-fried flour crisps in the shape of golden pillows is then added with wishes that literally the whole floor would be filled with gold.Words: Pian di huang jin.
Step 6: All toss the salad an auspicious 7 times with loud shouts of lo hei and other auspicious New Year wishes.Words: Lo hei which is Cantonese for "tossing luck".The ingredients mixed by pushing them toward the centre, an encouragement to push on the good luck of all at the table.(Source: http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_177_2004-12-30.html)

Then time to attack and find the fish...hehehe (The above photo shows very little chopsticks but was attacked by 20 people...lolol). Of course what follows the above dish of yusheng are other dishes too.

Skywatch-Singapore River Hongbao 2009-God of Fortune and The Singapore Flyer

The Singapore Flyer in the background. It was just reopened on the first day of chinese new year after closing for more than a month due to a electrical fire which stranded more than 170 people. Now it is fixed with a back up winch system. Hope all will be fine now. Maybe the location of the God of Fortune will bless the flyer. :)

A short video of the flyer in the night.

For other sky watchers, please hop over to Skywatch blog.

Singapore River Hongbao 2009 - Twelve Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese Zodiac is a 12-year cycle. Each year of the 12-year cycle is named after one of the original 12 animals. Each animal has a different personality and different characteristics. The animal is believed to be the main factor in each person's life that gives them their traits, success and happiness in their lifetime.

According to one legend, the Jade Emperor invited all the animals in creation to a race, only twelve showed up: the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, and according to their places in the race, the Jade Emperor had given them each a number starting with the Rat who was the winner of the race.

Many legends arose from the Race of the Chinese Zodiacs. One told of the reason why cats and rats shall always be enemies: He and the cat (at the time good friends) were poor swimmers, so they asked the ox if they could stay on top of his head to cross the river. Along the way he pushed the cat off the ox's back. And the cat, incapable of swimming, lagged behind. The rat stayed on top of the ox's head until the ox was almost at the finish line. And as the ox was about to cross it, the rat jumped from the ox's head and became first place. And the cat and rat have been enemies ever since.

Another legend tells that the cat had asked the rat to wake him up the day of the Race. The rat agreed, but on the said day, he did not wake the cat in his greed to win. When the cat finally woke up and got to the racing ground, he found the race to be over. The cat then swore revenge upon the rat. (Source: Wikipedia)

Welcoming year of the Ox

Tiger Zodiac - not a favourite zodiac with the chinese as tiger is seem as being very fierce.

Cute Rabbit

Dragon - a favourite with many chinese and that is why there is always a baby boom during the year of the dragon. This is not good cause getting a place in the school can be a problem when the baby grows up as there are too many vying for a place in a popular school.

Snake

Horse

Goat

Monkey

Rooster

Dog

Pig

Saying goodbye to the year of the rat - see you in twelve years time.

Singapore River Hongbao 2009-Variety Show

Continued from yesterday's post.....the people who were seated in the seats were watching a variety show for the Chinese New Year. The floating platform is a great place for hosting such shows.

Behind the stage are many displays of chinese zodiacs and chinese statues. I had to queue to enter to look at them. The queue is fast moving because the whole place is so huge.

A short video of the show.

Please return to visit my blog for more photos of the twelve chinese zodiac.