The Lunar New Year celebration in Singapore, also known as Chun Jie (Spring Festival), is full of color and life, the most exciting holiday of the entire year for the many ethnic Chinese residents. The new lunar year is welcomed with an array of light and lanterns hung from buildings. Traditional music and dance are performed throughout the island, though the center of the frenzied activity is Chinatown. Decorated with a spectacular light display, delicious holiday foods and festive street markets, the are is overflowing with excitement for for locals and visitors alike.
Craft stalls are set up in the street market, many selling the calligraphy that is an integral part of Singapore's Lunar New Year celebration. Written with pleas for good fortune, happiness and health, the calligraphy is displayed in most homes. New ones are bought each year and are as popular with tourists as they are with the locals. Flower markets are spread throughout the city, welcoming with the flora that symbolizes spring and new beginnings during the celebration. Pussy willows, chrysanthemums, narcissus and bamboo are symbolic of the season and fill many of the stall. Displayed in homes and offices, the flowers bring especially good tidings of luck and longevity.
The Chinese Lunar New Year celebration lasts for fifteen days, each with a special meaning and a particular food to be eaten. During the two-plus weeks of celebrations, the harbor skyline blazes to life with firework displays (strictly controlled by the government which has otherwise banned fireworks).
Visiting Singapore during the new year celebrations can be overwhelming with the intense ramp-up to the the family-centered holiday. The frenzied activity and focus on preparations for the new year are entertaining and educational, but be aware that for many, it is a family holiday first. Shops will close down, transportation may b difficult to find and the streets will be empty of most locals for a day or two after the new moon. It's a time to reflect on the past year, then focus on the new one--something everyone can do.
