THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON

 It's that time of the year again when our Chinese Singaporean managing director, Chiou See, puts on a Chinese New Year celebration. She invites all the residents and their families especially grandchildren because the celebration has a lot to do with giving children good luck for the future.

Chiou See and her friend , Poz the chef, and her husband, Brendon did all the cooking for 200 people. Here is the menu:

Ian, our resident committee chair gets instructions on how to set up the room to fit in 200 people. The committee and volunteers help decorate the room and set up the fold up tables and put out the chairs, and set the tables.

Helen, my friend, volunteered to help. She wrapped the cutlery in a serviette.

Brendan is going to hang a lettuce from the ceiling for the Lion Dancers.

The people are arriving, finding a place for their families and getting drinks from the bar. We are encouraged to wear red if possible.

We are served spring rolls as an appetiser while we wait for the lions to appear.

Then the drum and cymbals begin. It is very loud and noisy.

The lions dance to the beat of the drums. They also drop a banner from their mouth which is giving us  good luck.

They dance down the aisles and interact with the guests, Each table has colourful envelopes where we deposit some cash to feed to the lions. Their fee for the entertainment. Its fun watching the children gingerly putting the envelope into its big mouth. Sometimes they put their big mouth right over your head which looks like they are eating you. One lion did that to me. 

Part of the ritual is where the lion tries to eat the lettuce (greens) and spit it over the guests for good luck.

Chiou See's food was delicious.

Another part of the occasion is where the oldest person in the room presents all the children with an envelope of money and are encouraged to buy something sweet with it. All for good luck. The children line up from the youngest to the eldest. Chiou See is a very proud new grandmother. Her little one is at the head of the line while a 92 year old guest presents the envelopes with the help of one of the teenagers.

There were lots of grandchildren.

There were lots of guests.

 

 We also had a Chinese trivia session.