CHINESE NEW YEAR 2014 - THE YEAR OF THE HORSE

1/29/2014

I just recently returned to Singapore from the USA and was immediately thrust into the fervor that accompanies Chinese New Year here in Singapore.

The first thing I saw on arrival, was the massive and quite beautiful "Year of The Horse" display at Changi Airport. Changi, really is the most wonderful airport and there is always something interesting to look at there.

The celebrations are this coming weekend, the first day of the Lunar New Year being Friday 31st January and the Year of the Horse will last until 18th February 2015.

The preparations have been going on for weeks, China Town has been buzzing. The market is groaning with vendors selling red and gold decorations, fruits, candies, lanterns and the red packets for the giving of money - an all important factor of CNY. The first weekend I am back in Singapore, my husband and I headed to China Town on a Saturday night to take a look at the lights, the decorations and check out the market. It was crazy! There were so many people it was hard to move at some points. In fact at one point we were stuck in a throng of people so tight that nobody was moving anywhere!

Hard to move in China Town

I did manage to snap some quick photos as we were passing through the market stalls. Needless to say we were not there very long. As soon as we were able, we made our escape and headed to a quieter part of town for a much needed beer!

This year the theme in China Town is "Galloping to Prosperity". Overhead are some 176 flying horse lanterns. These lanterns are the creation of 55 master craftsmen, and took 15,000 man hours to put together. Altogether they stretch 280m within Chinatown. Mingled with the horses are 2,000 giant ancient coins, representing the "prosperity" part of the festival theme.

This You Tube video from Pat Law Photography, really captures the feel.

Although I have been lax in my CNY observations and recordings this year, some of my fellow bloggers here in Singapore have not. Please check out some of these great posts from Bloggers I follow here in Singapore.

Tails From The Lion City

Living in Sin

Expat Kiwis - Singapore and Beyond

Expat Adventures in Singapore

HAPPY YEAR OF THE HORSE - GONG XI FA CAI