Thanks to Penang’s sizable Chinese population, the Lunar New Year celebrations in the area are especially boisterous. On the eve of the New Year, Malaysian Chinese turn up in their ancestral homes to eat, gamble, and celebrate with their families.
Throughout the Chinese New Year season, Penang comes alive with innumerable parties and parades, but several events are particularly worth seeing if you’re visiting the area.
Chinese New Year Street Market
On January 18, the Little Penang Street Market condenses the entire Penang cultural and shopping experience into a single venue on a single day - with stalls selling traditional Chinese New Year foods and trinkets, cultural performances going on in the streets, and the strains of Chinese traditional music filling the air.
The Street Market takes place on Upper Penang Ring Road, just across from the E&O Hotel.
Chinese New Year Open House 2009
Penang's government will hold a Chinese New Year Open House at Campbell Street on the 29th of January, from 6:30 to 10:30 in the evening.
If you want to see traditional Chinese performing arts, this is the place to go. Lion dances and Chingay performances will compete for your attention, just as you're sampling the delicious food that comes with any Chinese New Year celebration!
Chinese New Year Cultural & Heritage Celebration 2009
Chinese New Year celebrations in Penang are most boisterous in Penang's historical district, where the locals are proud of their city's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On February 1, a Chinese New Year Cultural and Heritage Celebration will be staged along Armenian Street, Cannon Street, Ah Quay Street, Soo Hong Lane, Acheen Street, and Chulia Street.
The celebration will feature some interesting activities such as a treasure hunt and a Chinese New Year cooking demonstration.
The Celebration will organize "Seven Towns" featuring the different cultures that have made Penang what it is today: Hokkien, Canton, Hainan, Teochew, Hakka, Wushu, and Malay. Visitors can wander through each "town" to explore the different cultural traditions of the city.
Different civic organizations also play a part in the day's cultural events: clan groups such as Khoo Khongsi, Lim Khongsi, Cheah Khongsi, and Yap Khongsi will present an opera show and a series of cultural dances.
Comments? Objections? Insights? Discuss this post on the GoSeAsia forum.
