Sweet memories of Peranakan Chinese New Year

We, the Peranakan celebrate Chinese New Year with as much festivity as other Chinese but with our own special twist!

A little background introduction of this unique community that can only be found in Melaka, Penang and Singapore.

The Peranakan or Straits Born Chinese are descendants of Chinese who intermarried with the locals and settled here during the 15th century.

Over time, we assimilated Malay language and customs into our daily lives. Thus, a fusion of culture of our own was created. The most prominent Malay influence can be found in our language (Malay Baba), clothing and food. However, we also retained our Chinese heritage, especially customs like ancestral worship.

Hence don’t be surprised that Chinese New Year is celebrated according to our mix lineage! My maternal grandmother is a true Nyonya, she is a very strict lady and have plenty of “pantang- larang” or taboo especially for Chinese New Year. Every year, the preparation for Taon Baru starts one month earlier.

Spring cleaning, shopping, decorations and baking have started!

My grandmother or “Mama” will make sure that our house is spotless clean and decorated with Chinese New Year decorations. This is to ensure that good fortune will be abundance for the coming year. She believes that the God of Fortune will only visit houses that are clean and tidy!

My mama will start to shop for the ingredients for baking cookies, Chinese New Year Feast, New clothes and Chinese New Year decorations.

Mama although already in her early eighties will prepare the Acar. It is the famous Nyonya pickle made from sliced carrots, cucumber and green chilis stuffed with rasped papaya fruit. Aside from that, she will also start to prepare “chicken and pork seh” ; marinated pork and chicken meat sliced in big chunk for the Chinese New Year feast and preparing Wajik .

Wajik is one type of a sweet sticky cake made from glutinous rice and Gula Melaka. About two weeks before Chinese New Year, the baking of Love Letters and Pineapple Tarts will start. Normally, I am only allowed to help with the small task of baking the Pineapple Tarts. As for the Love Letters, I am too young to help and will only create more mess.

Then, the curtains have to be changed, red cloth or “Ang Chai” is hung at the door, oranges and other offerings are arranged at the altar.

We the Peranakan do not simply place oranges and pineapples on the altar but tie and decorate the fruits with serrated-patterned red paper before offering it to the gods. Sometimes, I will have blisters on my fingers as cutting the serrated-patterned red paper will be my job!

Believe me, it is a long and tedious job, how I wishes that I could easily purchase a ready cut serrated-patterned red paper just like at present!

First rule during the First day of Chinese New Year will be no sweeping the floor! This is to prevent the fortune from being swept away.

Another must follow “pantang-larang” or taboo is attires which are black in colour or with the combination of black and white are forbidden. We must wear red colours clothes during Chinese New Year to welcome good fortune.

Now will be the “Angpow” giving and receiving time! However, we need to “sohjah” our elderly as a form of paying respect to them. My Mama, as the matriarch of the family will sit down on a chair. Then, we the youngsters will stand in line according to seniority to give and receive Angpow.

My uncles and aunties will give Mama Angpow while we the kids and those still unmarried will receive Angpow.

The girls would kneel without their knees touching the floor while the boys would kneel and clasp their hands.

During the sohjah , Mama will say “Pande-pande surat” (be intelligent), “cepat-cepat kahwin” (get married faster) or “cepat-cepat beranak” (Faster give birth to baby) while we the younger ones would reply by saying, “panjang-panjang umur” (may you have long life).

The day continues with relatives and friends dropping in to visit and feasting the delicious Chinese New Year cuisine that Mama had prepared.

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