Chinese New Year in Singapore

This year's Chinese New Year was during the boys' winter school holiday so we took the opportunity to spend it in Singapore. This is a first for the boys and they enjoyed themselves.

Thanks to The Wacky Duo, I found a few places featuring lion dance and brought the boys to watch them. They totally loved it. I was surprised to catch a dragon dance at Suntec. As it was a monday, the crowd was small. The boys got to sit right in front of the show.

We visited Chinatown to get into the mood of Chinese New Year. It was hot and soon the boys were bored. I did managed to get some souvenirs for friends back in France. We stopped at a coffee shop for drinks and that four cold drinks cost us $17.80. No fresh fruit juice, no beer, just lime juice and soda. Boy, that was a rip off.

We could see sheep and goats everywhere as it is the year of the ram.

On the first day of Chinese New Year, my mother gave the boys each an ang bao (red envelope with money in it). The boys opened the packets immediately in front of her. I had to explain to the boys that it was not christmas where we opened the presents right away. I told them to put ang bao they received in my bag and I would help them keep them. At the end, we could go shop for a present each. The boys did just as told when we visited relatives and friends. I also had friends over at my mother's place. My boys were impressed. They told me “Maman, you have many friends.”

I am happy that they get to celebrate chinese new year in Singapore at this age. Though the trip in Singapore was short as we spent a few days in Batam, the boys had a taste of how Singapore celebrates Chinese New Year. A2 even wanted to wear a chinese costume. He would love to wear it to school but it is too cold here.