Chinese New Year: Wulumuqi Road Prepares for the Roaring Tiger

Have you heard? The Year of the Tiger begins this Sunday, February 14, and here in China, we'll be ushering it in with gusto on Saturday the 13th.

With a bang and a bang and a bang, bang, bang. (in other words, with hours and hours of fireworks used to scare away the evil gods)

I've got my spring couplets (chunlian) hung on either side of our door, a door god (menshen) hung on the door to ward off evil and give a hearty welcome to the new year, and a red lantern setting in the living room. I even bought new red tiger placemats from IKEA. (Can't have too many tigers hanging around...nor too much red.)

This morning I took a walk around my Wulumuqi (pronounced oo-loo-moo-chee) Road neighborhood  to check out how preparations were going. Looking good...

The markets & carts are bustling today. Everyone's buying flowers, nuts, meats, fruits, and goodies. There's no mistaking it...the New Year's feast is a'coming.

Out with the old, in with the new. Out with the dirt, in with the clean. Folks in Shanghai are getting ready for a fresh start and that includes washing all the laundry before the new year. Bad luck out, good luck in. So clean your house, cut your hair, get new shoes, and do your laundry. All will show the gods you are ready for happiness, good health, and prosperity. (But once the new year is upon us, put those cleaning tools away. You don't want to sweep away the good luck!)

Have you washed your special red gutchies yet? What? No? Get busy then, because donning red undies on Chinese New Year is a must. Back in the day when the awful monster "Nian" came to destroy Chinese villages at the end of every year, folks figured out that he was afraid of three things: noise, sunshine, and yep, red. In modern China, everyone wears red undies during the New Year celebrations. Every little bit helps, right?

See what I mean?

Need to pick up a few last-minute lanterns, couplets, hongbao (red envelopes for gifts of money)? Here's your one-stop shop in my neighborhood.

Door gods & hongbao envelopes.

Fish are important during Chinese New Year. First, the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for riches or abundance...and everyone wants to welcome riches and abundance into their homes, right? Of course. Thus the red fish. Folks also eat lots of fish during the new year celebrations because doing so will help wishes come true.

Speaking of fish...

And look, the fish seller himself...

Everyone around here gives and eats lots of oranges and tangerines during Chinese New Year. (My daughter has eaten 4.32 million of them in the past three weeks.) Why? Well, the Chinese words for gold and orange sound alike, and the word for tangerine sounds like the word for luck.

Bonus: If you can give oranges and tangerines with the leaves still attached, by all means do, because leaves symbolize longevity.

(Warning: Don’t give fruits in groups of four. In Chinese, the number 4 sounds like the word for death. 4 is an unlucky number in China, much like the number 13 back home.)

Don't forget your seeds & nuts...two more staples of Chinese New Year. Seeds for having many children and nuts for a long life.

And finally, East meets West. A New Year's party at the JZ Club. (Great jazz!)

More soon, my friends!

Gong xi fa cai!

Comments

[Katheastman]

Great pics. I really enjoyed seeing pictures from your neighbourhood rather than the "official" photos you normally see. They give a real taste of what it must be like. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy all the celebrations you've got lined up!

[Melissa]

Wow! This is all very exciting. My West Indian friend told me before the New Year that his grandmother makes him do his laundry right before the new year. I kind of laughed about it, but then I frantically went and did my laundry! It's such a practical way to start fresh :-) Happy New Year! Have fun!

[Amy U]

Thanks for sharing this insight into Chinese culture, down to the red undie tidbit. LOVE the pics. What's the use in hanging clean clothes out to dry in Shanghai? I would imagine they get covered with many layers of soot? (Some of the red undies looked larger than the average China-men's or China-woman's behind.)

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got my spring couplets (chunlian) hung on either side of our door, a door god (menshen) hung on the door to ward o

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[NFL Jerseys]

Thanks for sharing this insight into Chinese culture, down to the red undie tidbit. LOVE the pics. What's the use in hanging clean clothes out to dry in Shanghai? I would imagine they get covered with many layers of soot? (Some of the red undies looked larger than the average China-men's or China-woman's behind.)