{"id":7815,"date":"2018-02-14T11:47:15","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T03:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/?p=7815"},"modified":"2018-02-15T14:53:31","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T06:53:31","slug":"get-out-alive-your-chinese-new-year-house-visiting-cheatsheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/everyday-living\/get-out-alive-your-chinese-new-year-house-visiting-cheatsheet\/","title":{"rendered":"Get out alive – Your Chinese New Year House Visiting Cheatsheet"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-4-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color=”#fefeff” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”10px” top_margin=”-20%” width=”5\/6″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none”]
<\/div><\/div>[vc_custom_heading text=”Get out alive – Your Chinese New Year House Visiting Cheatsheet” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1518573955517{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1518677422516{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”]Now Chinese New Year is the time for <\/span>festivities<\/span><\/a>, Bak Kwa, and lion dances. Perhaps you\u2019ve got local friends, and they\u2019ve invited you over for a time of merriment and celebration. The Chinese culture might be startlingly different, so here\u2019s a cheat sheet to not only keep yourself from offending them but to impress them with your knowledge of the customs and traditions. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Before the visit.” use_theme_fonts=”yes”]
\"\"<\/div><\/div>[vc_custom_heading text=”What to wear.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1518579878449{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”]Do:<\/b> Red is the primary colour celebrated, as it is closely tied to the <\/span>origins<\/span><\/a> of the Lunar New Year. Pair it off with complementary oriental colours like yellow and gold. Ladies can look for cheongsams, and guys can don a mandarin-collared shirt (for the brave, you can try a changshan). If you\u2019re not a fan of red, bright colours work fine as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t: <\/b>Wear a full-black or a black and white outfit. Basically, don\u2019t wear what you\u2019d wear to a Chinese funeral. Full white is OK, and some of the less traditional Chinese won\u2019t bat an eyelid at a mix of colours if it includes black. Our advice is to play it safe and avoid these colours completely.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, whether it is a serviced apartment, bungalow or condo, most Asians have a no-shoes-in-the-house rule, so even before stepping in, step out of those shoes!<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”What to bring.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”]

\"\"<\/div><\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1518574208719{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”]Do: <\/b>Bring a pair of oranges to give to the host of the house. Not just any oranges, but Mandarin oranges. A spare or backup pair might come in handy as well. Put them in a small paper bag as you don\u2019t want to be juggling them in your hands all the way to your host\u2019s house (when you buy Mandarin oranges during the festive season it usually comes in a bag). <\/span><\/p>\n

Also, if you\u2019re married, bring red packets (Ang Baos) to give out to singles and children you meet there. You should put an even numbered amount of money (except 4, see below) and numbers that end with 8 are highly prefered, as the word 8 in Chinese (\u2018Ba\u2019) sounds very close to the word that means fortune (\u2018Fa\u2019). And if you\u2019re single and just feeling the Lunar New Year spirit, you can be charitable and give out Ang Baos to children as well!<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t: <\/b>Give an Ang Bao that ends with a 4. The word 4 sounds close to the word death (\u2018Si\u2019) in Chinese, making it an unlucky number. <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”During the visit.” use_theme_fonts=”yes”]

\"\"<\/div><\/div>[vc_custom_heading text=”What to do and say.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1518677583435{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”]Do: <\/b>The first thing you\u2019d want to do is greet the host. To do that, give them the pair of oranges and wish them. You can say simply say \u2018Happy Chinese New Year\u2019 or to impress them you can say it in Chinese, ‘X\u012bn Ni\u00e1n Ku\u00e0i L\u00e8’ (pronounced\u00a0seen nee<\/em>–ahn<\/em>\u00a0kwai\u00a0<\/em>luh).<\/em> To floor them with your impeccable Chinese, also say \u2018Gong Xi Fa Cai\u2019 (it means to wish the person a prosperous year). <\/span><\/p>\n

In Singapore, Asians usually referred to the elderly affectionately as \u2018Uncle\u2019 or \u2018Aunty\u2019 so you can do that instead of calling an older person by their name. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ang Baos are usually given to singles and children.<\/span><\/p>\n

There might also be some gambling, you can expect to play mahjong and blackjack. <\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll get a pair of oranges back after (it can be immediate or when you leave), or you\u2019ll be going to the subsequent house (if any) empty-handed. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t:<\/b> Ask for the oranges back – on the off chance that the host forgets, this is where your backup pair comes in handy.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”How to eat.” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”]

\"\"<\/div><\/div>[vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn” css=”.vc_custom_1518579797458{margin-top: 20px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”]Lou Hei, or Yu Sheng is a traditional Chinese dish that\u2019s fun to partake in, you\u2019ll see sauces and ingredients getting added while blessings are chanted. Then you all will \u2018toss\u2019 the salad pretty wildly to mix everything together while shouting blessings for the New Year. You can simply say \u2018Happy Chinese New Year\u2019 or \u2018Huat ah!\u2019 which is to bless with prosperity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do: <\/b>Generally, Chinese people eat using chopsticks. If you\u2019re untrained in the art of chopsticks, you can always politely request for western cutlery. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t: <\/b>Setting them down by sticking them right into the bowl you\u2019re eating with. Instead, rest them across the top of the bowl. <\/span><\/p>\n

Share this article with anyone who desperately needs a Chinese New Year cheatsheet – who knows, you might save someone’s face. So have fun, enjoy the good food, and from all of us here at MetroResidences, Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai!<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/6″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_widget_sidebar enable_sticky=”true” sidebar_id=”blog-sidebar”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”padding-4-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color=”#fefeff” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”10px” top_margin=”-20%” width=”5\/6″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none”][vc_custom_heading text=”Get out alive – Your Chinese New Year House Visiting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[137,146,144,63,143,145],"class_list":["post-7815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday-living","tag-chinese-new-year","tag-expat-visiting","tag-lunar-new-year","tag-serviced-apartment","tag-singapore-chinese","tag-year-of-the-dog"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7815"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7831,"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7815\/revisions\/7831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}