Chinese New Year is based on Lunar Calendar. It begins on the first day of the first month and ends with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month.
It is Spring Festival that is the most important for all the chinese around the world.
All the chinese in every country will prepare a lot of red and goldie color stuffs like cushions, wall stickers, accessories for lucky bamboo or other plants, and new clothes.
We are having goldie cushions on sofa this year. Food and drinks for guests. I’m preparing for 29th of the last month and last day of the Rabbit Year ceremony. Not every year end on 29th, some are on 30th. We are going to pray the Thi-Kong for the new year Great Prosperities, Health, and Wealth. 24th of the last month of the year, We supposed to do praying for the Tua-Pe-Kong and other gods and goddess to go up to the heaven before the new year. And then followed by first day of the year praying. On the 4th, we are going to prepare for the Tua-Pe-kong, goddess and gods to come back to the Earth and we’ll have to cooke Tao-Mi, It’s made of yam cooked in sticky gravy (a lil bit of vege and he-bi/dried prawn). It meant for inviting (seems like sticking) the Tua-Pe-Kong and other gods and goddess to our house to take care and bless all the people in the house.
Some other places might have different celebrations and ceremony but it all are still meant for the similar purpose. On the 15th of the month, It is Lantern Festival. All the singles would bring 2 oranges and let them flow in the river, it’s meant to find their other half ^.^ .. Some call it Chinese Valentine’s day.
Public Holidays For Lunar New Year 2012
Here are public holidays for chinese new year 2012 around the world:
Indonesia : Monday, 23 January 2012 (1 day)
Malaysia : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Tuesday, 24 January 2012 * (2 days)
Singapore : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Tuesday, 24 January 2012 (2 days)
Hong Kong : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Wednesday, 25 January 2012 (3 days)
Macau : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Wednesday, 25 January 2012 (3 days)
China : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Wednesday, 25 January 2012 (3 days)
South Korea : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Wednesday, 25 January 2012 (3 days)
Vietnam : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Thursday, 26 January 2012 (4 days)^
Taiwan : Monday, 23 January 2012 – Thursday, 26 January 2012 (4 days)^
In Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia and Japan, Chinese New Year 2012 is a major festival, however is not a public holiday.
Everyone has been busy clearing some pending works before chinese new year to have a peaceful and happening Dragon Year celebration.
Well, I’m enjoy preparing and enjoying Chinese New Year these few days … We’ll be back after CNY maybe… I’m going back to my hometown on the 3rd of the 1st month, It’s more happening there. It’s going to have a lot a lot of firework around the town. It’s like 360 degrees firework surrounding the city but too bad I can’t witness it anymore since I will be living here with a new family and I’m the one who made it more happening at least. Cos there’s no Chinese New Year feeling at all here. Yay!!! I’m making it more happening!!!
( Will upload the pics after CNY)
2nd Feb 2012
Hey all, I’m back. As promised. Here you are, The basics food for Chinese New Year.
I made strawberry jelly and chocolate corn-flakes cereal for guests.
Strawberry Jelly for the guests
Strawberry Jelly: No colouring, No sweeterner, It’s only 2 packs of Jelly powder, almost 2 litres of water, pure raw sugar to taste, sliced strawberry.
Chocolate corn-flakes cereal
Chocolate corn-flakes cereal: half of small pack of original corn flakes cereal, 1 bar of cooking chocolate, you may use normal chocolate as well. Fully melt the chocolate on a bowl and on boiling water. Pour the cereal into the melted chocolate. scoop by using tea spoon on to the muffin paper cups. Voilaaa!! let it cool down..
This pineapple tart is so-called “a must” in Chinese New Year. I did not manage to bake this, but I bought the best in taste.
- Pineapple Tart
These were what we had right the night before new year for gathering. Seafood, Porkie, mushroom, and vegetables. Usually, all family members will have a gathering meals on the last day of the year to celebrate togetherness.
Gathering Steamboat
This was mushroom wrapped sliced porkie. The leftover from the new year gathering. No food will be thrown away. So, I grilled mushroom wrapped pork with red wine sauce on 24th jan 2012… yummyyy..
Mushroom Wrapped Porkie
Mushroom Wrapped Porkie: Golden mushroom or the fresh leftover mushroom (if a big one, then slice it), thinly sliced pork collar, wrap them all, heat the griller pan. Some salt and black pepper to taste. Grill til it turn brownish. Put aside on the plate. Use back the pan without washing because it has the special taste from the pork, add in about 1 cup of red wine, some more salt and pepper to taste again. A lil bit of olive oil. Bring to simmer and pour it on top of the grilled pork… YAY!!! DONE!!! healthy and not wasting.
23rd Jan 2012. It is 1st day of the new year. I prayed for the prosperity, healthy, happiness, and wealthy ^.^ aheads and this is the offerings:
Chinese New Year offerings
This was the first time I’m doing it by myself. What we need to offer here is the fruits and cakes. Pineapple, Ti-Ke (sweet basket cake) ** ooppss not in the pics, but i still have it in my fridge, will snap it before frying it for snack eventually**, nuts, and pomelo are the basic items.
**Coming Home **
25th Jan 2012, it’s time for me to back to my hometown and meet my family members. This is so-called the regulation after tying the knot. The bride can only go back to her mother’s home on the 2nd day of new year on wards. ~.~ Well, we had meals together aferwards.
Lunch at home.
BaganSiapiApi Kari-Peng - BaganSiapiApi Curry Rice
BaganSiapiApi Kari-Peng – BaganSiapiApi Curry Rice: I posted my own one previously ^.*
BaganSiapiApi Rojak - BaganSiapiApi Salad
BaganSiapiApi Rojak – BaganSiapiApi Salad: Kangkung (vegetable), bean sprout, fried tofu (slice), fried prawn pancake (slice), and pour some peanut sauce on it. I will reveal the peanut sauce ingredient eventually.
Brekky at home.
Half-Boiled Kampung Chicken Egg
Best quality you can only get it from Indonesia neighborhood’s. I posted this egg previously. The chicken is fed with corn, rice, and it runs around happily at the backyard … hohoho …
Half-Boiled, but don’t eat too often, not good for high colesterol people but good for stamina. Add in some salty/light soya sauce and pepper while it’s still hot will complete your breakfast healthily.
BaganSiapiApi Chee Cheong Fun - BaganSiapiApi Paper Rice Cake
SLLUURRPP!!!
BaganSiapiApi Chee Cheong Fun – BaganSiapiApi Paper Rice Cake: 150 gram of rice flour and 120gram of tapioca flour to make the paper rice cake. Set aside 1 spoonfull of tapioca to make the base by boiling it with 1/4 cup of water. Cook until it becomes gluey. Pour into the mixture of rice flour and tapioca and knead it til become a hard dough. Add in about 1 litre of water slowly til the dough is smoothly and water and dough mixed perfectly. Boil water on a wok, use an aluminium cake baking plate, apply some olive oil. Pour about 1 scoop of big soup spoon of the mixture on to the plate. Try to make it even while putting it on the boiling water wok, cover for awhile and then take it out carefully. Do it til the mixture is finished and you will have a lot of layers. Cut it by using scissors layer by layer, it should be crumpled when you take it one by one. Put them on place, garnish with minced dried prawn, grind baked peanut, celery, fried shallot, and watery chili paste. Add in some dark soya sauce if you like it.
Shopping for snacks at hometown.
Sate Padang - Padang Satay
It’s chicken satay padang with tapioca crackers… yuum yuumm..
Sumedang Tofu
This is super delicious fried tofu. One of my favorites. They marinated them with some delicious ingredients (well, not fully discovered by me yet) before frying them. Crispy skin and tender inside. It still tastes good even its skin is not crispy anymore.. hohoho..
Dine-Out.
Rumah Makan Pak Abbas - Mr.Abbas Restaurant
Rumah Makan Pak Abbas – Mr.Abbas Restaurant, it’s Padang mixed rice restaurant. Famous in my hometown. Very fresh river fish and chicken. Excellent taste dishes. I event ate 5 pieces of the fried chicken. They were so tiny til I can eat 5 pieces because they were Kampong Chicken. I almost finished all the dishes by my own. SLUURRPP!!!
Pak Abbas Ayam Goreng - Mr.Abbas Fried Chicken
Super skinny fried chicken and healthy.
Another healthy brekky by Mama.
Herbal Chicken Misua
Herbal Chicken Misua made of tiny hand made misua with herbal chicken soup (black color soup) and kampong chicken egg.
Yeaahh!!! Flying back to SG again!!
9th Day of Chinese New Year
And this is for the 9th day of Chinese New Year. It’s Thi-Kong’s (Heaven god) birthday. Usually we do the offerings at about 1am. The main items are red-color shell egg, misua, and Ku-Chai (Chinese chives). The rest are the same with the 1st day’s. And it made me have a lot of pineapples. I cooked it as a dessert and this time I made pineapple jam (posting it in Food-For-Life).
Happy Chinese New Year !!!
Wishing you a very prosperous Dragon Year!!!!
Bie
