Happy Birthday, jade emperor!!

well, as i blog now, fireworks are blaring away, blasting my eardrums as we herald the birthday of the jade emperor of heaven. actually, the celebration is on the 9th day of the first lunar month. however, the community here prepare for the celebration on the 8th, and when the clock strikes 12, the party begins.

in the chinese pantheon, the jade emperor is the highest post available. he's command over rules all earthly decision, and the only other deity that stands on par is the Buddha himself. however, it must be noted that the jade emperor is not actually the first deity in records of chinese history (the first deity will be the goddess Nu Wa). according to legend, the heavens needed a ruler to keep it in order, to be the highest guardian of heaven, and also to bestow blessings, rain and harvest upon men. at the same time, there was a young man in ancient China with the heart of gold. he's kind at heart and good in features. after undergoing various trials from the heaven, he was eventually confirmed the position as the highest ruler of the heaven. the jade emperor is married to the goddess Wang Mu, and have various children, all being stars in heaven.

in penang, the hokkien community is the majority chinese here. it was said that, when the hokkien in fujian was escaping from a brutal warlord, they fled to the sugar cane fields to hide. after hiding from some time, they emerged unharmed and their lives were spared. coincidentally, that very day was the birthday of the jade emperor, therefore, they believed that the jade emperor had rescue them and spared their lives. as a mark of gratitude, they decided to honour the jade emperor, and sugar canes are always used on the altar to mark this very incident. it is with this reason also that the hokkien people actually consider this as their 'official' chinese new year.

when it comes to the altar, food are lavishly spread across the table as symbol of gratitude to the jade emperor for the bountiful year before, as well as to wish for a better year ahead. the most important thing there is the roasted boar. it indicates the wealth of the family as only the rich could afford the boar. however, there are other must haves, including: glutinous rice cake (bee koh), ang koo, huat kuih, and chinese tea. as mentioned, sugar cane is used as offering also, but for me being cantonese, we only offer flowers and the kueh..

the end of the ceremony is marked when large amount of folded gold paper are burnt. the gold paper used is not the common type where we could buy to offer to other deities. we use the 'thnee kong kim'. it is larger and more intricate in design (to symbolise his authority as the leader of the heavens). the gold are stacked as high as possible to ensure that the fire is really strong. a strong fire is a good omen for a prosperous year ahead.

well, i guess this is as much info that i can provide from years of experience as well as some casual research that i've done over the years. i really hope that these articles concerning the celebrations over the chinese new year celebration period will help enlighten those who are clueless on what they are doing. it actually saddens me to see more and more chinese these days are ditching their age old cultures, and have adopted a different faith altogether. it's not that i am dissing their faith, it just that i feel that cultures that started some 4075 years ago are slowly evapourating with the smoke that i smell around me now. i would not be surprised if one day, people wouldn't celebrate chinese new year anymore.
from my angle, i see that here i am, a half chinese, trying my best to absorb the culture, to understand it, and perhaps to carry on with it... and then there are pure chinese who doesn't seem to give a damn. what world exactly are we living in now???

anyway, i'll still try to update as many chinese festivals as possible over this period, and i hope you guys enjoy reading them.
ciao
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ben