CNY 2014 Year of the Wood Horse

Chinese New Year is celebrated in Singapore on January 31 and February 1 this year. The city is getting ready, decorations are going up and the festive mood is back! The lighting ceremony in Chinatown is this Saturday so I will make it over one night next week to try to get some good shots of it all lit up. Until then I have some photos of Chinatown during the day and some of the "holiday regulars" I have come to expect each year.

This is a street in Chinatown with the new yellow and red lanterns special for CNY 2014.

A little closer to the lanterns, excited to see them lit up at night. 

Giant horse lanterns with gold coins and ribbons. The building in the background is an older HDB building (apartment building), the same one in the first photo. 2014 is the year of the wood horse, so you will see a lot of horses...

Another view of the horses galloping into prosperity! The whole street is decorated with the giant horse and coin lanterns, its really pretty.

This horse lantern is good to pose by, its close to a pedestrian bridge so there is easy access. 

One of the many banners in Chinatown hanging from the pedestrian bridge.

One of the items you see every year at CNY would be cherry blossom branches. They are for sale in most stores and at a few places in Chinatown and everyone is buying them up! These are artificial, most of the ones I have seen are. It is believed that there will be no fruit without flowers so it is important to have flowers and plants as decoration during CNY. Plants signify growth and flowers symbolize wealth. Most families spruce up their homes for this holiday by buying new plants, flowers and home decor. 

I didn't see any takers on the stuffed horsey though...maybe this weekend these little orphans will find good homes.

Coins wrapped in red ribbons are believed to attract the energy of money to you. These are supposed to be hung up in your home or you can buy smaller versions to keep in your wallet or purse.

Paper cuttings are popular year round in Chinatown but I think they are a common thing to buy to decorate your home for CNY celebrations. I got mine at Fair Price (grocery store), thought I'd try some creative shots with it. There is a guy in Chinatown that does these by hand. There are so pretty.

Another paper cutting. This is on the 8th floor of my condo building at the pool level. There are planters that are in shallow pools of water. Thought it might be an interesting background to float the paper cutting in the water. Looks good but I wish I knew what it says...

Red Packets. Traditionally they are red because the color red is a protective color, representing auspiciousness and prosperity. It even is believed to have the power to exorcise evil spirits. The packets can be decorated with lucky symbols and Chinese characters. These days they aren't all red but are found everywhere and are very popular for those celebrating CNY or birthdays and other important celebrations.

Mandrain Oranges. The city is still decorating but soon there will be mandarin orange bushes at the entrance to many buildings. The grocery stores and fruit stands have beautiful, fancy wrapped orange and tangerine gift basktes ready to go. They are considered traditional symbols of abundance and good fortune. 

Pineapple cookies, tarts, rolls, etc. Love this one! The are popular because they are tasty treats, but also because the Mandarin word for pineapple is feng li, which means phoenix pear. Phonetically it sounds like "good luck comes" in Mandarin, so it is believed that eating this cookie will bring good luck and sweetness. I had to buy them for the blog of course!

I love the tin they came in too, its a keeper! 

Happy Friday!!!