Very Happy Chinese New Year! Everyone,
The Hokkeins community has just celebrated Praying to the Thni Kong (Emperor Jade's birthday) on 11 Feb, 2011. READ MORE ON http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Emperor
I believe some of you may be aware that this ninth day of the Chinese New Year is a very auspicious and significant day to Hokkeins, one of the clans of the Chinese communities. This day is a memorable day and this practice has been carried through many generations. There are several sources of obtaining such information, either from our parents as I did, or other sources such as from books, newspapers or internet.
As such, I decided to pen down this memorable day in this blog, so as to pass this information to our future generations, at the same time to enlighten some of my blog's readers and visitors. I remember vividly that in those days, I also chipped in to obtain cookies and other deity items for my mother. The eighth day of the Chinese New Year, we were busy to get the 'must items' from the morning till very late at night. When the hand of the clock strikes 12, you can hear fire crackers everywhere in Georgetown for this is when the ceremony began. You may choose to celebrate either in big or small scale. Most of the time, we prayed, just outside of our house in a small scale, except for the year where my belated father passed away.
My belated father migrated from Nan Aun, Fujian Province when he was a teenager, after he managed to obtain the necessary travel documents to do so. My grandfather and his eldest son came to Penang much earlier. My father had managed to visit his hometown, to meet up with his younger brothers and his relatives before he passed away. As such, he had established a link for us to trace back our root/ancestors. Whereas my mother is a local.
Please let us know know your side of the story to make this article more lively. As far as my family is concerned, we have practiced till today. As a child, we were taught to be graceful to others who have helped/ touched us in anyway. Similarly, this historical event is central on the gratitude, which has been carried down from generation to generations.
According to my belated father, our ancestors from Fujian province survived persecution from the Sung Dynasty soldiers by hiding in a sugar cane plantation on Chinese New Year for nine consecutive days. To express their highest gratitude to the Thni Kong ( Jade Emperor), they offered sugarcane since then, as a must item to the Jade Emperor on this day. This is how sugarcane plays such a significant role in this festival till to-date. Other offering items included roast pork and the must-haves such as ang koo (red tortoise pure buns), mee koo ( red-coloured buns), huat kuih (prosperous cakes), ting tak ( sugar pagodas). Here, I am curious to know as how the other items were drawn in. Appreciate if anyone can enlighten me in this aspect. Please do so in the comment column provided below. Thank you in advance.
Append below please find youtube VIDEO that may give you a much clearer picture on how these items are being offered on this grand day at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDyDChpCIi8
Till today, at the stroke of midnight, a day preceding the ninth day, majority of Hokkein households, around George Town and other town areas in Malaysia, set up communal altars in front of their homes to pay homage to the deity. The question arises here is whether similar practice have been performed in other parts of the world. Please revert to us should there be any similarity or differences in the comment column provided below. Thank you in advance for your kind participation.
On this day, some may also invite their friends, relatives and business associates to their sweet home to dine after the prayers. I was told that some of them had migrated to Malacca, Malaysia during the early 1400 BC when the Princess Hang Li Po married the Sultan at that time. That's how the Nyonya clan was formed.
Stay tuned and I will blog more of such memorable events in my forthcoming articles. Hope you enjoy reading it. See you again.
The Hokkeins community has just celebrated Praying to the Thni Kong (Emperor Jade's birthday) on 11 Feb, 2011. READ MORE ON http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Emperor
I believe some of you may be aware that this ninth day of the Chinese New Year is a very auspicious and significant day to Hokkeins, one of the clans of the Chinese communities. This day is a memorable day and this practice has been carried through many generations. There are several sources of obtaining such information, either from our parents as I did, or other sources such as from books, newspapers or internet.
As such, I decided to pen down this memorable day in this blog, so as to pass this information to our future generations, at the same time to enlighten some of my blog's readers and visitors. I remember vividly that in those days, I also chipped in to obtain cookies and other deity items for my mother. The eighth day of the Chinese New Year, we were busy to get the 'must items' from the morning till very late at night. When the hand of the clock strikes 12, you can hear fire crackers everywhere in Georgetown for this is when the ceremony began. You may choose to celebrate either in big or small scale. Most of the time, we prayed, just outside of our house in a small scale, except for the year where my belated father passed away.
My belated father migrated from Nan Aun, Fujian Province when he was a teenager, after he managed to obtain the necessary travel documents to do so. My grandfather and his eldest son came to Penang much earlier. My father had managed to visit his hometown, to meet up with his younger brothers and his relatives before he passed away. As such, he had established a link for us to trace back our root/ancestors. Whereas my mother is a local.
Please let us know know your side of the story to make this article more lively. As far as my family is concerned, we have practiced till today. As a child, we were taught to be graceful to others who have helped/ touched us in anyway. Similarly, this historical event is central on the gratitude, which has been carried down from generation to generations.
According to my belated father, our ancestors from Fujian province survived persecution from the Sung Dynasty soldiers by hiding in a sugar cane plantation on Chinese New Year for nine consecutive days. To express their highest gratitude to the Thni Kong ( Jade Emperor), they offered sugarcane since then, as a must item to the Jade Emperor on this day. This is how sugarcane plays such a significant role in this festival till to-date. Other offering items included roast pork and the must-haves such as ang koo (red tortoise pure buns), mee koo ( red-coloured buns), huat kuih (prosperous cakes), ting tak ( sugar pagodas). Here, I am curious to know as how the other items were drawn in. Appreciate if anyone can enlighten me in this aspect. Please do so in the comment column provided below. Thank you in advance.
Append below please find youtube VIDEO that may give you a much clearer picture on how these items are being offered on this grand day at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDyDChpCIi8
Till today, at the stroke of midnight, a day preceding the ninth day, majority of Hokkein households, around George Town and other town areas in Malaysia, set up communal altars in front of their homes to pay homage to the deity. The question arises here is whether similar practice have been performed in other parts of the world. Please revert to us should there be any similarity or differences in the comment column provided below. Thank you in advance for your kind participation.
On this day, some may also invite their friends, relatives and business associates to their sweet home to dine after the prayers. I was told that some of them had migrated to Malacca, Malaysia during the early 1400 BC when the Princess Hang Li Po married the Sultan at that time. That's how the Nyonya clan was formed.
Stay tuned and I will blog more of such memorable events in my forthcoming articles. Hope you enjoy reading it. See you again.
James Oh
Skype me at james.oh18
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