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Now is the start of the Lunar New Year, which is also know as the Chinese New Year. 

Tikoy is a round sweet sticky rice cake usually given as a gift before each Lunar New Year. Its round shape represents unity and wholeness while its stickiness represents cohesiveness.  According to my Chinese friends, Tikoy should be eaten by the family during the Lunar New Year to bring about family unity.  

Ang pao is a red envelop where money is placed.  According to my Chinese friends, Ang pao is given to younger members of the family and close friends by the eldest member of a family or group. You can spend the money inside the envelop but you should keep the envelop to bring prosperity.

Sometime before, during or after the Lunar New Year, a dragon and/or lion dance is performed in offices and homes to bring in luck.

    

    

According to my Chinese friends, among other things that you should display on your dining table and eat after afterwards are pineapples for longevity and kiat-kiat (small sweet oranges) for prosperity.

   

I am no geomancer or expert in the nuances of gifts and ceremonies performed during the Lunar New Year.  I do, however, like to receive ang pao, watch the dragon and lion dances and eat kiat-kiat, pineapples and Tikoy (which I slice into thin slivers, dip in egg and fry). So, I am sharing with you my Tikoy, pineapples, kiat-kiat, ang pao and a dragon and lion dance.  As we welcome the year of the Ox, I wish you all a peaceful, happy, auspicious, prosperous and fun-filled new year.  

This entry was posted on Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Pursuits and Pastimes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.