T I G E R l i l l i i i BEER OFFICIAL
ORGAN
OF
CATHOLIC
ACTION
PUBLISHED WEEKLY.
20 Pages.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY
No. 6
NEW A DESCRIPTION
YEAR'S
DAY
IN S O U T H
OF THE SCENES CUSTOMARY IN SOUTH CHINA PREPARATORY TO NEW YEAR. THE DIFFERENCES IN OBSERVANCE BY CHRISTIANS
The Chinese reckon t h e i r dates by the moon, and t h e first day of the first moon is t h e most important, and in this land of firecrackers, t h e noisiest day of the year. For weeks before, t h e bustle of preparation was in t h e air. The sign writers were working overtime in their s^oos and on improvised tables outside them, writing inscriptions on long strips of red paper that would be pasted around the three sides of every doorway. Stalls appeared in every street for the sale of these scrolls and of the vivid pictures of gods and heroes t h a t would decorate t h e side walls and t h e smaller doors of the houses.
1
Hill
be the
scene
of
of the Church
Lady
AGENTS:
&
CO., L T D .
BRANCHES
of
|
Lady
Catholics
of Lourdes
BEER &
of Our
a foregathering Our
ANCHOR
SINGAPORE
OF
THE
When the cooking is all done, the best vase t h a t the family can boast of, often an old Chinese vase t h a t comes out of its wrappings only on great occasions, is set in t h e centre of t h e table, and in it is placed a branch of the lovely " H a n g i n g Bell Flower" a shrub something like our flowering-currant but with a larger flower. On either side is p u t a bowl of growing "Water-Nymph F l o w e r s " a highly-performed double narcissus, and nearby the eight-compartment box of sweetmeats, with melon seeds in the centre-—and then t h e stage is set for t h e family celebration of the New Year.
, The above is a photo
DARBY
THE CELEBRATION AND PAGANS.
The Final Preparation.
The Shopping Parties. Hawkers with new cries added to the babel of the streets, and the streets themselves were thronged with people from t h e villages coming to do their shopping. Every evening t h e family groups were streaming from t h e town laden with purchases. If t h e r e was a goose or a fowl, t h e man was there to carry it, alive, for t h e Chinese like their meat freshly killed; in the mother's basket could be seen the vegetables and the fruit and the vermicelli t h a t t h e season demanded; and on top of them the inevitable joss sticks and firecrackers; t h e children had pieces of sugar-cane to chew, and t h e baby strapped on its mother's back had a bright new knitted cap.
S1ME
CHINA
Beside this pan was another of steaming lard in which t h e "fried pockets" would be floated until th$y were a lustrous brown. These last are appropriately named. They are of rice flour, thin and hollow and as large as small footballs. Balloons might be even a more appropriate name, for t h e substance of which they are made looks, and to t h e unaccustomed palate tastes, like oiled silk.
There w a s heavy traffic on river highway, for a'l w^o could leave their work were returning home for t h e New Year, and an abundance of firewood had to be brought in t o tide t h e families over the two weeks when t h e boat people and t h e shops would make holiday. The samnans w^**e three deep on the already crowded waterfront, many of them laden with wicker crates of geese, t h e favourite New Year dish, but some bearing pigs, also in wicker tube-like crates, for pork is welcome to the Chinese a t all seasons.
SOLE
10 cents.
9th 1935.
of Lourdes, to
Singapore,
celebrate
the
which feast
of
shortly.
In t h e streets the smell of the New Year's cooking came from all the houses, very small houses for the most part, for there are very few t h a t have more t h a n one room. Through the door could be seen a group of children around the brick fireplace watching the rice dumplings being cooked, while the eldest girl stood by with a large green leaf ready to wrap up each one as it came from the pan.
In many ways t h e preparations remind one of the C h r i s t m a s in Ireland, but it is C h r i s t m a s without Christ, Who is t h e centre of our rejoicing. In t h e shops there is anxiety as well as bustle, for t h e last day of t h e year is reckoning day. Business methods are not t h e same in the E a s t as in the West. Here the average shop has not a banking account, it has limited capital and gives large credit, but all t h e money must be collected by t h e end of the year, otherwise it can be counted as lost. So, in spite of the e x t r a business of the time, and of t h e cheap sales to get rid of surplus stock and to swell t h e year's takings, some of t h e staff have to go around collecting debts, and the owners spend feverish nights at t h e i r accounts, for many will not know until t h e last hours of New Year's Eve whether they have succeeded in the last year's trading or w h e t h e r they must close their shops and declare bankruptcy. T h a t Mysterious Epidemic. And the assistants do not know w h a t is going to happen after t h a i dinner on the day following the New Year, for it is only t h e n t h a t they will have their contracts renewed for another y e a r or be told (Contd. on page 5 )