Lunar New Year

Tomorrow (Monday) is New Year’s Eve, one of the most important dates in the Chinese calendar, the re-union dinner when all the family MUST be home. Today, Sunday, gave people a little time to prepare for tomorrow.

Another load of peachtree branches made its way into Phnom Penh this morning.
A good number of customers seeking peachtree branches visited this sidewalk vendor.
This pharmacy took a minimalist approach to decoration,
just a couple pots of chrysanthemums.
This is an office building soon to open after renovation (it used to be a KFC outlet) and the owner seems to want to impress the neighbors with lots of chrysanthemums.
This French colonial building wants to light up the neighborhood with Chinese lanterns.

Most Corrupt in ASEAN

Transparency International this week released its global Corruption Perceptions Index and Cambodia was the highest ranked country in ASEAN–for corruption, that is. It ranked #161 of 180 countries, earning a place lower on the list than all its ASEAN neighbors and near the bottom for all countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Cambodia government and its flunkies of course criticized the report and said it was “biased and politically motivated.” Huh? When you’re at the bottom of the ranking–even if there is some political motivation (which there probably isn’t)—it would seem something is wrong.

Lunar New Year

Another essential element for the proper celebration of the Lunar New Year is chrysanthemums. And they are out in full force on the streets now, ready to decorate every house with any Chinese heritage.

The chrysanthemums come into town on a wagon pulled by a motorcycle.
Then they are displayed for sale on streets and sidewalks
and wherever a vendor can set up shop.
This woman has her flowers but also the traditional peach tree branches
which are just starting to bud.

Lunar New Year

I hadn’t planned on a series of articles about anticipation of the Lunar New Year but it seems each day presents another example of the preparations that have now started in earnest. Here is an example I encountered today:

Most major holidays or festivals in Asia are multi-day, even multi-week events. Even a basic wedding can go on for three days. The official lunar new year day is Tuesday, 5 February, but the new year festival has already started and will continue after February 5th. In the picture above a local man burns imitation paper money and symbols of luxury items to appease ancestral spirits and make them happy as the new year approaches.

Lunar New Year

More signs of the approaching lunar new year are appearing. Today I passed a woman on the street who was washing traditional Chinese figures and symbols used to celebrate the New Year. They were probably stored away in a box all year and very dusty.

After washing the figures, the woman dried each one with a yellow towel. As I saw her handling them, I was wondering if she has a favorite figure just like some of us had favorite Christmas tree ornaments that we would look forward to displaying each year.

Lunar New Year

Just a little over a month ago, local shops were displaying red Santa Claus suits. They are one way a culture that knows nothing about Jesus and Christmas can participate in the Christmas merriment through their children.

Now those shops are selling red suits again, but this time in preparation for the Lunar New Year. Most people in North America and Europe speak of the Chinese New Year but Lunar New Year is a more appropriate and inclusive label because all the chopsticks countries (Korea, Japan, Vietnam, etc.) celebrate the Lunar New Year, not just China.