Music Monday: A Brief Glance at a Chinese New Year Performance

family, music 1 Minute

This past weekend was the celebration of the Chinese New Year in Singapore, with many shops and restaurants closing down from early Friday evening until Monday morning. It was very quiet at the malls, on the streets, at the corner cafes, and at the food hawker courts.

But today things seemed to get back to their normal bustling style, so we decided to head out to one of the malls we have not been to yet, the Funan Mall.

While we were wandering around, we heard the sound of drumbeats, so we naturally went looking to find what was going on. And the videos below show what we discovered.

I’m not really sure what was going on, but I think it may be known as the dragon and lion dance. Despite my lack of understanding, it was fun to watch, and it was nice that the performers brought their act to a mall, which is where there are usually lots of people.

Enjoy.

 

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

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30 thoughts on “Music Monday: A Brief Glance at a Chinese New Year Performance”

  2. Thank you for sharing the video. The sights, sounds, and people bring back fond memories for me. I believe it is the lion dance, a traditional dance in Chinese cultural to bring good luck and fortune. There is also a dragon dance, but the costuming is different I believe. Happy Year of the Metal Rat!

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  3. I was impressed by your good manners. No ugly American jostling their way front and center (I think I might have….).I can see why you headed towards the drum sounds. I love the colorful views. Thanks for the videos!

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    1. thanks, Katharine. The video doesn’t show the pile of little kids that I left in my wake as I made my way as close as possible to the front 🙂

      The drums were certainly a good way to gather a crowd; I’m glad we were able to catch such an unexpected performance.

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  7. Chinese New Year is in full swing here..we got caught up in the dragon dance this morning as the dragon made its way down the high street…All good fun…Lots of red and gold everywhere and pretty lanterns…:) Enjoy your stay 🙂

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    1. thanks, Carol; it was quite a spectacle! We were fortunate to be here while CNY was taking place. We are planning to visit Bangkok next weekend. If you don’t mind, a couple of questions – do you think it is safe to travel to Bangkok right now because of the coronavirus? Someone had told me about a festival of lanterns in Thailand next weekend; is that true, and if so, is that a country-wide celebration, or just at one specific location?

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      1. Hi Jim…The Chinese lantern festival is always the 15th day of the first lunar month 8th Feb this year..Bangkok will be quite a big event and there may be smaller ones around Thailand where there are large communities of Chinese /Thais…There is a large Chinese community here where I live in Udon Thani so I expect it will be celebrated as the celebrations last for 15 days here…Not sure about Chiang Mai as the flower festival is that weekend but they may inter twine with each other as there is quite a a large Chinese population in that province. As for the Coronasvirus personally we are avoiding crowded places if not are wearing face masks as are many others. So far it seems contained from the news we are hearing and the affected are Chinese who have come into the country

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      2. Thanks for the info, Carol. Besides just be around Bangkok, we are also a bit concerned about the air travel involved. We will wait and see! The lantern festival sounds quite nice…

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      3. Very colourful lots of red and gold.. China Town is one my favourite places to stay when I spend a few days in Bangers… Then back to peace and quiet.. Enjoy.. 😀

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      4. It is Jim..But not if it is detriment to your health or your families…It doesn’t seem to have built up any urgency here at the moment but of course that could could change …

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  8. Lovely post, Jim and what memories you are making. I found you through Pete’s blog, where he shares a glowing tribute to you today. 🙂

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      1. Ohh, I bet you are. I have a lovely buddy who lives out there and he and his family are thriving too.

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