I spoke to a few of the Thai people on the island to get a better understanding to the what, why and where and here are some interesting facts of how the island people celebrate this important traditional day on which the island is dressed in red and gold and with a constant beating of drums.
Chinese New Year is also called spring festival or lunar new year and is an important holiday in east Asia. This festival traditionally begins on the first day of the lunar month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th. This last day is then called lantern festival. This is the lunar year of the tiger and if you believe the advertisements on the television, you can even buy tiger cubs to fit right in!
The Chinese new year’s eve is known as ‘Chu xi’, which means ‘change’ and ‘eve’. This holiday is celebrated on the island as a major holiday because of the strong influence and cultures of the ancestors who were mainly Chinese people. The island was first inhabited about 15 centuries ago by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and southern China and the name Samui is believed to come from a Chinese word ‘Saboey’ which means ‘safe haven’.
Now we come to the ‘what’ part.
– Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring the good luck of the new year.
– Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to scare away ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
– Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a sweet year. (Bye bye diet!)
– Fire crackers are used to pay respect to the spirits and there must be a lot of respected spirits on this island if you take the constant sounding of the crackers in consideration.
– It is important to have the house clean from top to bottom before new year’s day for good luck in the coming year, however cleaning the house directly after new year’s day is frowned upon. I still try to explain this part to my husband.
– Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come (eish…guess it will be only work for me for the rest of the year then!)
– They will often gamble (although illegal, it is done secretly) and play the lotto big time, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
– You have to wear a new pair of shoes that was bought before the new year and that means that you are stepping on all the people who gossiped about you in the old year (I could not find a pair of stilettos in my size anywhere alas!)
– You must bathe yourself in pomelo leaves soaked in water the night before the new year and this will ensure that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year. (Missed out on this one big time…)
– Buying a pair of shoes during new year is considered bad luck. Basically, the word shoes is a homophone for the word ‘rough’ in Cantonese or ‘evil’ in Mandarin. The same goes for buying a pair of pants (luckily I did not need a new pair of pants)!
– Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one’s own luck. (Depends on how long you can take the itching…)
– Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away your good fortune and luck for the new year.
– Talking about death is considered inauspicious as well. (My lips are sealed.)
– And then, buying books is bad luck because the word for book is a homonym to the word ‘lose’.
– You also must not wear black or white clothes, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional funeral colour.
There is a big festival with lots and lots to eat, singing (not always soft on the ears.) and dancing and then your traditional ‘Lion Walk’, dragons, fire dancers and a lot of weird acts. And the constant crackers and fireworks….
So here I am in my old pants, no shoes, washed hair (here comes the bad luck), dirty house, not reading or talking about death and all dressed up in red and thinking, ‘isn’t Valentine’s Day much easier to do?’
If you ask the Thai about Valentine’s Day the only answer is, ”My boyfriend has to buy me big present!” (Does not matter if it is shoes or pants and any colour as long as it is red!)
So excuse me whilst I am off to the bookshop to buy a book to read on the beach whilst me and hubby are having our Valentine’s picnic all dressed up in my black and white bathing suit. St Valentine I salute you
