New Year in Asean
Credit to Author: TERESITA TANHUECO-TUMAPON| Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2019 17:08:20 +0000
Part 2 – Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
CELEBRATING the New Year may not be the same for all the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). While a countdown from December 31 midnight to a second after, may yield today’s popular forms of entertainment such as hotel parties, several Asean members have their traditional practices to celebrate the New Year on dates reckoned on the lunar-solar calendar. We will look into both — the countdown to midnight practices as well as the traditional celebration of the New Year in these countries. We drop, meanwhile, the metaphor of the Asean village.
Countdown to 2019. In many parts of Asia, as elsewhere in the world, “people love to celebrate a holiday marking the start of a new calendar year — a festival of putting aside the problems and disappointments of the past, of finding new hope, of beginning anew.” <https://asiasociety.org/ celebrating-new-year-asia> Asean member countries, being subject to the time zones do not begin the New Year at the same time. The time differences, as we pointed out in the preceding week would slightly differ from Philippine time (PhT) from half an hour to an hour, and in a couple of countries, stretching to an hour and a half. Indonesia with its thousands of islands has different time zones so that there are differences as to when New Year begins among its major cities. For example, Denpasar (11:25 a.m.) is an hour ahead of Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung (10:25 a.m.); and Sorong is two hours ahead of Bandung (12:25 a.m.). Also, due to the respective dominant religion in these countries, the New Year does not necessarily follow the Gregorian calendar. However, no matter where one is in the world, New Year’s Eve, which marks the last hours of the Gregorian calendar, is always celebrated with such spirit. Whether it is their traditional New Year countdown on the eve, celebrations are with family, enjoying meals together, watching fireworks, promenading in amusement parks to witness glorious scenes, thanks to the stunning technology of today.
Asean ‘New Years.’ While a countdown to New Year finds a spirited celebration in Cambodia, the country’s New Year referred to as The Chaul Chnam Thmey is widely celebrated by the locals with grandeur and pomp, starting on April 12 until the 14th. As in all Asian New Year celebrations, visiting the house of God, temple or church, to seek the blessing of the Almighty is a common part of the tradition. One interesting custom that has lasted these many decades is “building hills from sand near the temple grounds” decorated with religious flags, one being at the top and the other four round the sides. This is done to show the five disciples of Lord Buddha.” One other New Year custom is to “sprinkle auspicious water on the faces of the people during the dawn, on the chest in the afternoon and on the toes after the sun sets. Some people throw colored waters on each other which is done to wish a colorful and joyful life in future. Traditionally people throw colored powder also.” <http://www.123newyear.com/newyear-traditions/cambodia.html>.
As to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, there are its opulent displays of its “staggering skyscrapers” besides traditional visits to temples, and old recipes in both restaurants and markets. Millions of tourists every year choose to be in Kuala Lumpur (KL) to enjoy their holiday. Last year, a fortnight before Christmas, I too, was in KL, courtesy of my son whose office was once at the Petronas but later moved to the building beside it where Microsoft has offices. The “enormous Petronas Twin Towers, stands at a lofty 451meters and beacons on the Kuala Lumpur skyline.” The web describes it as a perfect “backdrop for the stunning fireworks display.”
In Singapore, New Year comes at the same time as that in the Philippines is and considered, too, as “among the major festivals of the nation,” celebrated with a “lot of grandeur, splendor, and enthusiasm.” Colorful lights in such amazing and fanciful display illuminate Singapore’s streets – markets, street shops, malls, parks, buildings, etc. Following Chinese traditions and customs, families organize feasts serving age-old family recipes and offering gifts to family and friends. Shops display “attractive gift items, including toys, flowers, clothes, firecrackers, etc. and the traditional plum tree considered as a perfect gift” [for] anyone on the occasion of New Year.”
Another tradition referred to as Chun Jei call for preparations a month before the day of the New Year. Chun Jei calls everyone “to develop positive hopes for the future, and abandoning all negativities, troubles, miseries, and failures of the past and the past itself. Much importance is given to a belief that one should look forward to give a new and positive start with the initiation of New Year, and that will lead to wealth, prosperity, peace, and healthiness in the coming time.” <http://www.123newyear.com/new year-traditions/singapore.html>
Thailand’s Songkran Festival, a national holiday, marks the beginning of the Thai New Year. Songkran comes from the Sanskrit word samkranti, which means astrological passage,” a traditional Buddhist festival. Come this April 12 to 16 of the Gregorian calendar, Asean will witness the 2019 Songkran. “Thai cabinet extended [it] nationwide to five days, to enable its citizens to travel home for the holiday. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran _(Thailand)>.
In Vietnam, the New Year, like in many parts of the world, are the usual displays of merriment. Spending New Year’s Eve 2018 in Ho Chi Minh City (previously known as Saigon), one of the most beautiful cities in all of Southeast Asia ”ensures one to experience the unusual dazzle of fireworks display.” <http://top svietnam.com/vietnamese-new-year/>
Email: ttumapon@liceo.edu.ph
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