NEW YEAR , NEW OPPORTUNITIES
EMOTIONAL HIGHS & LOWS
While nagging aunties and complex traditions are interesting new directions , they are only two of the many untapped marketing opportunities . To identify more of these , we asked our colleagues to conduct an auto-ethnographic study over the holidays – taking photos , recording video , and performing short tasks . What emerged is a picture of the emotional journey which celebrants go through , the highs and the lows , the challenges and the delights .
FOOD
When it comes to Chinese New Celebrations themselves , we must surely begin with food ! Yu sheng stood out as the main highlight across Singapore and Malaysia – this can be the only time the whole family comes together for a single activity and is the srescendo of each gathering . It also reveals an unusual feature of CNY , with many ingredients chosen because they sound like fortuitous phrases ( e . g . abalone is popular as it sounds like ‘ guaranteed surplus ’).
TRADITIONS
FESTIVE DISHES & SIGHTINGS
Aside from the yu sheng , it ’ s the older generations who maintain many traditions , such as not wearing white and not sweeping ( so as not to brush away good fortune ). When their knowledge is lost , the unique character of the festival can go with them . The absence of such traditions be poignant , and seeing them revived a great source of joy . Our colleague was very excited to see a neighbour following the Taoist tradition of leaving a light on overnight before the first day of the lunar calendar , and immediately began sharing pictures on social media .