Kuala Lumpur in February heralds Chinese New Year. That means Lion dancing, lanterns and slap-up food.

Wood roosters and lions dance on Petaling Street. It is the annual dawning of Chinese New Year and the cock crows in celebration. The new year will be the year of the red fire pig and the last year in the 12 year cycle.

It will be a particularly auspicious year ahead for rabbits and sheep. Not so good for oxes and snakes.

Chinese New Year celebrations start on the second new moon after the winter solstice. That's February 18th this year, and festivities continue for fifteen days after that date. In Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia's capital, most are centred on Petaling Street in the traditional Chinatown area of the city.

A few years ago a Malaysian airport was closed as thousands of small, bright, red-coloured Chinese lanterns floated upwards and filled the sky with light. Apparantly the kerosene soaked objects, undetected by radar, were a danger to incoming planes.

Sky lanterns are just one example of an ancient culture clashing with modernity. Malay Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year (Yuan Tan) with many traditional customs that hark back to their Chinese past - traditional firecrackers, for instance, that although illegal, are still set off and challenge the tolerance and eardrums of the authorities.

Lion Dance performances are the major highlight of Chinese New Year celebrations anywhere in the world, including Ireland in recent years. The Lion Dance dates back to the Han Dynasty about 200 years before the birth of Christ and has its origin in myth. It represents a legendary battle between the lion and a mythical monster called a ‘nien’.

The ‘nien’ was an evil spirit that used to gobble up humans and animals on New Years Eve. The lion was the only animal that scared the ‘nien’ away. But the monster vowed to return. When it did the lion was otherwise engaged guarding the emperor’s palace and couldn’t help. So the people made brightly coloured paper mache lions and danced about to scare the ‘nien’ away again. The ‘nien’ disliked bright colours and noise, so the lions were painted red and firecrackers exploded.

The tradition is continued to this day to scare off evil spirits of the old year. Two dancers, often trained in martial arts, operate the lion acrobatically, moving the lion’s eyes, mouth and ears for expressions and to signify moods. They are accompanied by three musicians and a little Buddha or rubber ball, teasing the lion as it dances. Choi cheng ('picking the green'), when the lion eats a piece of vegetable attached to string in front of restaurants, represents the dramatic climax of the dance.

The last day of celebrations is the Chinese equivalent of Valentine’s night. It is celebrated with prayers and offerings to the gods at the temples. According to legend, young unmarried woman would throw themselves into the sea in the hope of finding good husbands, although this sounds like something they might have done if they feared being left on the shelf. Nowadays they throw lucky mandarin oranges into the waves.

Children and single people look forward to this day, as their elders will give them red packets with money inside (the ang pow). The most auspicious ang pow contain three gold coins, which represent the three principles of Feng Shui: heaven, earth and man.

Read more Year of the Pig ..