Live long and have a prosperous year of the snake

Chinese New Year is the biggest public holiday event in Singapore at least by counting the number of continuous days off. The actual new year falls this year on Saturday and Sunday and for fairness sake both Monday and Tuesday are days off as well. Singapore does actually surprisingly well in the comparison of number of national holidays during a year.

I took a trip to Chinatown in the new years eve. It was crowded but not the extend I was expecting. It was still possible to navigate through the crowds and find a free table in a restaurant (excellent soft shell crabs in chilly sauce). Chinatown looked very nice while bathing in the yellow and red light from all the lanterns.

For an outsider I took notice of what seemed like a fixation with wealth when it comes the beginning of the new year. People hand over mandarins to each other and buy small kumquat trees into their homes. The reason being in the yellow color of the fruit which symbolizes all the gold to be captured during the year. Similarly there are significant sales towards end of the year and also for the first customers in the beginning of the year -- expected to bring good fortune going forward.

Following the local customs, this morning I handed over red packets to my kids -- once again with new dollar notes inside them to enforce prosperity in the coming year.

May you all find good fortune and happiness during the year of the snake!  

(Apparently I was not the only one thinking about another person with fixation for prosperity.

I found this image from this blog)