XIN NIAN KUAI LE (Happy Chinese New Year) (poem)

The Chinese New Year (Xin Nian),
is an important celebration in the lunisolar Chinese calendar,
This time, February 16 is Chinese New Year,
Celebrations start from the evening before the first day,
to the Lantern Festival fifteen days away.

The New Year (CNY) is a cultural celebration,
Often the evening preceding CNY day is the main occasion,
Chinese families gather for their annual dinner reunion,
Red is the favoured colour for the festivity,
as it signifies success, happiness and prosperity,
During the New Year activities include visiting friends and families,
and giving away ang pows in red envelopes,
Others include the lion dance and the burning of firecrackers,
which make the atmosphere happy and prosperous.

Although it may not have been that obvious,
CNY celebrations also involve Chinese Muslims,
where millions live in and outside China,
together they pray facing Mecca,
In China alone there are more than 20 milllion Muslims,
where 10 million are ethnic Hui Chinese,
Their most famous son was Zheng He,
He was a fleet admiral during early Ming dynasty,
Hui Muslims demonstrated that although they are culturally Chinese,
at the same time Islam they are able to practice.

Islam (as I understood) does not discourage Muslims,
from conforming to their culture and traditions,
Islam has always celebrated differences among races,
and encouraged Muslims to retain their racial characters,
As Muslims it is important to be mindful of other cultures,
as it can remove unnecessary man-made barriers,
and allow Muslims to reach out and remove prejudices,
It's God's wisdom we were created to be different,
but not for us to be indifferent,
We must not ignore each other,
as the more we know other cultures,
the better we develop trust, mutual respect and openness.

"O mankind! We created you from a single
(pair) of a male and a female, and made
you into nations and tribes, that ye may
know each other...." (The Quran 49:13)

Some little experiences of my own I still remember,
during CNY we visited our primary school van driver,
whose name I recall was uncle Ah Khaw,
He generously gave us drinks and ang pow,
When I was in secondary school in Perlis,
I enjoyed basketball with friends who were Chinese,
Under coach Wong we played against others,
When I got married and had small boys and girls,
they received ang pows from our Chinese neighbours,
Once at a neighbour's wedding dinner,
we tossed Yu Sheng together,
Later as part of my work I attended a conference in Nanjing,
There I looked for a mosque along a street named Taiping,
People there showed me the Muslim Temple,
Surprised me that it was a mosque built with features oriental,
More recently, when I was at Taman Tasek in Ipoh for a visit,
I went  to a Chinese Muslim mosque and prayed in it,
the red colored mosque was in Malaysia the first one built,
with a 100% fully Chinese architectural design,
The roof was imported from the Chinese city of Longyan,
at first glance it also looks like a Chinese temple,
which was indeed very much oriental,
Indeed the experiences were multiracial and multicultural.

Of course for Muslims there are do's and don’ts,
Alcohol and gambling are not allowable,
and some rituals and acts may not be permissible,
but there are other practices which are commendable,
When it comes to cultural celebrations,
observing Islamic manners is a must,
but showing sensitivity to other cultures we are also asked,
So let's together welcome the Chinese New Year,
and usher in the Year of the Rooster,
Remember that God has made us into tribes and nations,
so that we can get to know one another,
thus experience the beauty of each other's culture.

Wishing all our Chinese friends Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year)

Poetized by drK@KuantumHarapan, Jan 2017