Is it that time already? Soon it will be Chinese New Year [CNY for short] 2018, the Year of the Dog. What auspicious celebrations will it bring? In Auckland, the Chinese New Year Festival & Market Day will feature the following:

Grand Opening with Lion/Dragon Dance,
over 200 specialist stalls Chinese hot delicacies,
CNY foodstuffs,
Chinese traditional arts & crafts, cultural songs, dances, musical items, martial arts, tai chi and more.

Something exciting to look forward to...

The beginning of the year in NZ has always been the time for holidays. Vacations for the family in Australia to further afield overseas, or simply head for the bach at the beach in NZ; it's wine, music, celebrations. Prestige and vintage cars jostled with farmers market days, welcome to summer. Not long to go, here's what happened in CNY 2017 and even better programmes await this year ...

In early February the first weekend of celebrations in Auckland was the Parnell Rooster exhibition. What was that, and how did it tie-in with CNY 2017?

The headline went: ''… Artists and celebrities strut and crow in Parnell. Various artists and celebrities have joined in the fun to create a range of flamboyantly colourful rooster art pieces preened and ready to strut, in celebration of the incoming Chinese Year of the Rooster …''. The Chinese New Year Rooster in Parnell is a novel idea; where better to have it? Parnell is home to a rich vibrant diversity of galleries replete with paintings, ceramics, sculpture, glass, and all sorts of mixed media.

2017 was the Fire Rooster year; it was one of the 12 animals to be represented each year. The Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The Chinese zodiac attaches animal signs to each lunar year in a cycle of 12 years. The Chinese believe that as they enter a new year, they should start a new beginning. They sweep, brush and clean their houses. It would be unwise to owe any money, for it is believed that it could carry-over to the next year, and so on. It is customary to purchase new clothes in order to have a fresh start for the New Year.

I would wear some form of red attire for CNY, a throwback to my childhood in Penang. Red packets, red letter day, brightly coloured red lanterns in shopping centres and homes. Red is considered the symbol of energy, happiness and good luck. Many businesses throw open their doors in a frenzy of fireworks for good luck as well as the traditional dragon dance; it an auspicious time for new businesses’ opening day. Many weddings adopt the same celebratory style, and are planned months before, some in the most glamorous venues.

So, we were bright and early for the Parnell exhibition. Summer dress and billowing hats, as the fierce heat burns through the flimsy clothes. With over 35 roosters, a map that showed where the Roosters were, in relation to the businesses that lined Parnell streets. We were on par with other groups of visitors, armed with maps. Three very ancient Chinese men scurrying away to beat us to the first cockerel, two young girls who took selfies with every flamboyant rooster that they'd encountered, an Italian family group, a couple of German tourists...

Many Chinese New Year Roosters were in dress stores, others in gift-shops, home stores and jewellers. Galleries, bookshops, dry-cleaning shop fronts; even hats stores and trendy furniture store or two.

More roosters than anyone could imagine, we spent a few hours rushing from one side of the roadway, ducking down an arcade, then darting over the other side and down a side street...

We passed many visitors bound by the same journey, seeing as many roosters as they possibly could.

Seeing my gait, one of two of the groups, whom we were on waving terms at the end of the stint, having bumped into each other many times, gave little directions, pointing us in the correct direction, when we stopped for breath and more photos.

Trump: The Fitting up of America, the CNY Rooster 2017 in Parnell that everybody wanted to see and have selfies or even we-fies [as in a selfie with more than one in the photo], together with the exhibit. It was the talk of the town. We were quite bowled over that the artists' gift of understatement with the Trump-esque cockerel.

Dragging a blue-globe world, heavily chained to its claws, as it stood on a golden heap with the palest-blue eyes. The bouffant hairdo with a wavy quiff, is cleverly done with swirly feathers dyed a bright yellow with flourish on its cockscomb. The suit, ill-fitting as yet, stitched-up, and re-stitched-up. Strangely uncanny, but unmistakably Trump. Here's the writeup of the Artist, Jane Daniels, who created Trump: Fitting Up of America, Rooster.

All the roosters had some form of interesting story behind the fashioning of the finished product. The artists and creators lovingly and with meticulous care: painted, stitched, knitted, embellished with buttons and feathers, encrusted by sequins and crystals, and even dressed in pre-loved denim. One artist even made a solid glass-like resin base for the rooster to stand in. Very bright, colourful, flamboyant, and celebratory indeed. The Year of the Rooster festivities would conclude with the auction of the rooster artworks for the Starship Foundation and National Air Ambulance Service.

On the Friday of the 2017 celebrations, a celebration of Chinese culture in a different way, as in a Chinese emigratory milestone. A photographic exhibition celebrating 175 years of Chinese life in New Zealand opened in the Auckland Museum. It recounted the journeys of Chinese migrants to New Zealand, starting with the life of the first Chinese settler Wong Ah Poo Hock Ting {locally called Appo Hocton, by the the settlers}, and more.

Appo Hocton arrived in 1842, and his hard work during his life here paid off and contributed to the building of New Zealand as a young modern nation. It harked back to the goldminers, merchants of yesteryear, as well as the white gold and the dairy industry, right up to innovative new entrepreneurs in of the digital age.

A new series of comic-book artworks about stories that depicted that journey. Being Chinese in Aotearoa: A Photographic Journey celebrates Chinese life in New Zealand. It was an opportunity to appreciate some exquisite Chinese treasures from Auckland Museum's collection.

And... who could forget the Chinese New Year Festival of Lanterns? In 2017 the Lantern Festival was held in the Auckland Domain; a much bigger space from the previous year, and with the Auckland Museum close by. And the venue was just outside and around the 'Chinese in Aotearoa' exhibition.

Music, food stalls, cultural shows, meetings & greetings. A chance of getting together whatever the race or culture and sharing a meal. It was a warm and balmy night, and the Chinese Lanterns were outstanding.

In Malaysia, festivities for Chinese New Year where it continues for 15 days, it is customary to enjoy special sweet dumplings resembling the shape of the full moon on the 15th day. The round-shaped balls and the serving bowls, come to symbolise the family togetherness. As a child, I'd helped in making those multi-coloured dumplings of glutinous rice flour in a sweet soup.

Nyonya ''pengat'' is the speciality dessert to be eaten on the 15th night, called Chap Goh Meh, which is part of a unique tradition that comes from descendants of the Baba Nyonya folk in Penang. Eaten either hot or cold, it is delicious. Bright colours, yellow bananas, chunks of purple-tinged yam; yellow, orange and purple colours of three types of sweet potato (kumara), are the main ingredients of pengat. At times tapioca flour made into coloured jelly. All cooked in coconut cream, delectable.

All set for another year? Let's go...