From Where I am.........Kuala Lumpur: Chinese New Year

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Chinese New Year - the 14th day

We are celebrating the 14th day of Chinese New Year today, the final two days of Spring Festival 2013.

Basically, there is no special activity connected to this 14th day but in places celebrating Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao day tomorrow, today is a day for preparation for the annual Chinese New Year event. Therefore the 14th day of Chinese New Year is also known as The Lantern Decoration Day.

Tomorrow, the last day of Chinese New Year, i.e., the 15th day is also known as Chap Goh Meh literally translated as the 15th night in the Fujian/Hokkien and Teochew dialects.

Chap Goh Meh is celebrated on a grand scale on the island of Penang, the island state with a higher population of people of Chinese descent. The event is sponsored by the Penang state government. It is free and open to everyone with food and drinks being served - including halal food.

There will be two stages being set up for the celebration. On the stage at the Esplanade, there will be Chinese ‘24 Drums’ performance, dance performances, singing performances, ‘Wu Shu’, Malay, Chinese and Indian cultural performances. There will also be the customary tossing of mandarin oranges led by Chief Minister, YAB Mr Lim Guan Eng.

The smaller stage close to City Hall will be dedicated to Peranakan performances starting from 7.30pm. There will be performances of the traditional joget, pantun, dondang sayang and a few Hokkien Songs. At 8.30pm there will be a special Kebaya Competition, open to women of all ages regardless of background. The highlight of the Peranakan stage is a special performance from world renowned theatre group "My Wayang" from Singaproe.

Finally there will be a 10-minute fireworks display at 11.00pm at the Esplanade as a closing to the festive night and the Chinese New Year.

Event: Chap Goh Meh Penang State Open House
Date: 24 February 2013
Time: 8.00pm – 9.30pm
Venue: Esplanade
*Free admission

For more details, visit the Penang Tourism website.