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柔佛古庙遊神 Johor Bahru Chingay Celebration 2012

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Danielle
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A Century Old Malaysian Tradition
In other parts of Malaysia, Chinese New Year celebrations usually end on the 15th day—the Chap Goh Meh--of the Chinese New Year. Not so in Johor, where it ends with a bang with the Johor Bahru Chingay Festival—a three-day long festival that begins 20 days into the new year.
If you have ever been to a Chingay celebration in Johor Bahru, you'll probably agree that calling one of Malaysia's largest and grandest festivals would not be an exaggeration. Every year on the 21st day of the first Chinese lunar month, the Johor Bahru Tiong Hua Association organizes the colourful procession that, most recently, had attracted over 300,000 people to watch the event. People come from other states and often other countries simply to catch a glimpse the celebration.
A festival over 140 years old, the Johor Bahru Chingay parade features Chinese cultural displays such as Chinese Opera, lion dance, flag pole performances, dragon dance, float procession and many more. Chingay, meaning "true art" in Hokkien, is a spectacular showcase of Johor Bahru's rich Chinese culture. During the celebration, 5 deities, each representing one of the 5 Chinese communities of Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka and Hainan, are brought out from their home in the Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple to join the procession around the city centre. When the deities are brought out, devotees can be heard shouting "heng ah, huat ah, ong ah!" which means luck, prosperity and auspiciousness respectively. During the procession, many spectators also scrambled in attempts to touch the deities for good luck. Many can also be seen lighting up joss sticks for prayers.
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