CNY is approaching

CNY or Chinese New Year is approaching. I can feel it when I walk down Ipoh Lane to the Jelutong market every morning. Along the lane, there are stalls selling new year cookies, Mandarin oranges and Xian Nian (New Year) decorative items. Roadside CD stalls are blaring out CNY songs to attract customers to buy them.

The Nian Gao (brown gluttinous rice dumpling) is on sale too. It is used for offering to the Kitchen God to 'bribe' him to tell good things about the household whe He goes to the Jade Emperor to do His annual reports to the Heavenly Emperor on the 24th day of the 12th moon according to the Lunar Calender which falls on the 17th of this month.

Stalls selling New Year dresses are doing a roaring business too. The Chinese will not fail to wear new dresses on New Year Day, the first day of Xin Nian. They like to start with a new beginning, hoping to have a better year ahead.

Come 23rd of January, the Chinese will usher in the Year of the Dragon. Many Chinese are getting married this year because they want to have their babies born in the Year of the Dragon - a very auspicious animal.

The disadvantage of a child born under the Dragon year is keen competition for places in the universities and chances of getting a scholarship when these children reach their college-going year.