Photo 15 : The Jade Emperor

Today is the 9th day of the first lunar month ( February 15th 2008 ). It is the birthday of the Jade Emperor - the God of all Gods, and the emperor of the heaven. The Chinese Hokkien perform elaborate thanks giving prayer to the Jade emperor at midnight of the 8th day of the first lunar month.

Photo 13 : Kumquat Plant

Plants are symbol of life. During every Chinese Year, my relatives in Ipoh never failed to have 2 potted Kumquat ( Limes ) trees at the main entrance of the house. The kumquat tree with the blooming goldern yellow coloured limes symbolized wealth and good luck. Chinese culture is pretty much obssessed with prosperity and wealth, so the Kumquat tree is a popular plant adopted by the Chinese in Malaysia as auspicious decorative plant during Chinese New Year.

Photo 12 : First Day of CNY

February 7, 2008 is the first day of Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the RAT !! On the morning of the new year, I usually offer prayers to my ancestors and burn joss sticks and "Kim Chua" ( Golden paper ) to welcome back the deities from both heaven and earth to the house. While others from other religions using loud speakers to shout their prayers and thus contribute to noise pollutions, on this auspicious day, I exercise my religious rights to contribute to global warming by burning joss sticks and "golden paper".

Photo 11 : Mandarin Oranges

Have you ever seen any Chinese celebrating the lunar new year without oranges ? To the Chinese, Mandarin oranges are auspicious fruits and symbolize wealth and prosperity. Out of habit, every Chinese New Year, I never failed to buy a crate of Mandarin oranges for the house and office to attract wealth. In accordance with tradition, it is also mandatory to place a pair of Mandarin oranges and Angpow ( red packet containing monwy) on top of my working desk as a symbolism of " Dai Kat Lai Xi" ( literally means abundance luck and good opportunities )

Photo 09 - Chinese New Year's moods

I went to Subang Parade on Sunday afternoon. Have a late lunch at Esquire kitchen, and it costs me RM 86 ! A bit pricey considering the fact that the foods are not really that good. After lunch, I went around the shopping complex to do some last minute CNY shopping. To my surprise, CNY is only four days away, but the shopping complex is unusually lacked the normal festive shopping crowds. Times are bad ?