Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [2]
Hong Kong’s premier sporting event, this seven-a-side tournament is held over three days at Hong Kong Stadium and attracts teams and spectators from all over the world.
April
HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
www.hkiff.org.hk
This is a two-week extravaganza with screenings of more than 240 films from around the world.
BIRTHDAY OF TIN HAU
www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/events/chinese-festivals.html
A festival in late April/early May in honour of the patroness of fisherfolk and one of the territory’s most popular goddesses; in Macau it is known as the A-Ma Festival.
CHEUNG CHAU BUN FESTIVAL
www.cheungchau.org
Taking place around late April/early May, this is an unusual festival that is observed uniquely on Cheung Chau (see Click here).
* * *
KUNG HEI FAT CHOI (& HAPPY NEW YEAR, TOO)!
The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the Chinese year. Expect colourful decorations but not much public merrymaking. For the most part, this is a family festival, though there is a parade on the first day, a fantastic fireworks display over Victoria Harbour on the second evening, and one of the largest horse races is held at Sha Tin on the third day.
Chinese New Year, which mainlanders call the Spring Festival, begins on the first new moon after the sun enters Aquarius (ie sometime between 21 January and 19 February) and ends, at least officially, 15 days later. In Hong Kong it is a three-day public holiday.
The build-up to the holiday – the end of the month known as the ‘Bitter Moon’, since it’s the coldest part of the year in Hong Kong – is very busy, as family members clean house, get haircuts and cook, all of which are prohibited during the holiday. Debts and feuds are settled, and employees get a one-month New Year bonus. You’ll see many symbols in Hong Kong at this time of year, and they all have special meaning for people here. Chinese use a lot of indirect language, and ‘punning’ is very important in the use of symbols. A picture of a boy holding a gàm-yéw (goldfish) and a hàw-fàa (lotus flower) is wishing you ‘abundant gold and harmony’, since that’s what the words can also mean when said in a different tone. Symbols of fùk (bats) are everywhere, since the word also means ‘good luck’. The peach and plum blossoms decorating restaurants and public spaces symbolise both the arrival of spring and ‘immortality’, while the golden fruit of the kumquat tree is associated with good fortune. The red and gold banners you’ll see in doorways are wishing all and sundry ‘prosperity’, ‘peace’ or just ‘spring’.
Punning also carries over into foods eaten during the Lunar New Year holidays. Faat-choy (sea moss) and hò-sí (dried oysters) is a popular dish, as the names of the key ingredients can also mean ‘prosperity’ and ‘good business’. Lots of fish, gài (chicken), which also means ‘luck’, and hàa (prawns, or ‘laughter’) are served, as are noodles for longevity.
Of course, much of the symbolism and well-wishing has to do with wealth and prosperity. Indeed, ‘gùng-háy faatchòy’, the most common New Year greeting in southern China, literally means ‘respectful wishes, get rich’. The lai-si packet is very important. It’s a small red and gold envelope in which new bills (usually $10 or $20) are enclosed and given as gifts by married people to children and singles.
The first day of Chinese New Year will fall on 14 February in 2010, 3 February in 2011 and 23 January in 2012.
If you’re planning to travel around this period, it pays to plan ahead, as huge numbers of people move around and trains and planes can get booked solid.
* * *
May
BIRTHDAY OF LORD BUDDHA
www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/events/chinese-festivals.html
A public holiday during which Buddha’s statue is taken from monasteries and temples and ceremoniously bathed in scented water.
LE FRENCH MAY
www.lefrenchmay.com
A month of Gallic-inspired culture, food and (bien sûr) wine.
June
DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/events/chinese-festivals.html
This festival, also known as Tuen Ng (Double Fifth) as it