Chinese New Year 2014 (Gong Xi Fa Chai!)

The world, or at least places where there is a Chinese community, recently celebrated Chinese New Year with much fanfare (this year's fell on January 31st).  The Philippines, with about 1.5 million Filipinos with pure Chinese ancestry, just recently declared the turn of the Chinese calendar, more popularly known as Chinese New Year, as a special non-working holiday (started in 2012).

Although I am one of those Filipinos with pure Chinese ancestry, our family has never been one to make a big deal out of the celebrations for Chinese New Year.  It was probably due to the fact that we were usually at work/school back in those days when it wasn't considered a holiday yet.

This year was to be different as I finally realized that it being a holiday, I needed to embrace one of the most important occasions of my ancestors.  The center of the Chinese New Year celebrations in the Philippines were centered around Manila's Chinatown otherwise known as the area of Binondo.  Luckily, there was no need for me to drive to Binondo as my residence is a comfortable walking distance to it.  As expected, Ongpin Street was closed to all types of vehicles and traffic (both human and vehicle) was horrendous  around its vicinity.

                             Trivia:  The oldest Chinatown in Asia is in Manila (established in 1594)

Ongpin Street was filled to the brim with Filipino Chinese, curious kibitzers, street vendors, foreigners, and all sorts of different people from all strata of life.

Street vendors were selling all sorts of wares that were not in the bit least Chinese related but they added color to the celebration.

A form of animal cruelty if you ask me!

Everlasting???  I thought they only sold these in Baguio.

Of course, staple shops in Binondo such as Eng Bee Tin is already a must-visit for Tikoy (glutinous rice), hopia (flaky pastry) and other Chinese delicacies were all busy.  Lines were very long and this was evident in almost all the stores and restaurants.  It was impossible to buy anything much less find a seat in a restaurant.

Lastly, we can never go through Ongpin Street without passing through two creeks.  They still look as dirty as ever but believe me when I tell you that this is already at its cleaner state.  It used to be strewn with trash and debris that if you fell into it, you could probably do a walking-on-the-water kind of miracle.  However, nowadays,  if you accidentally fell into the creek, you'd die first of the bacteria clinging on and entering your body before you actually drown.

It was indeed a festive celebration that happened all over Binondo but most of the noise and fanfare was concentrated in Ongpin Street.  Would I still come back next year?  Probably not, since I can visit any day of the week and the shops would still be there minus the crowd and the vendors and having to worry about pickpockets.  However, for those not residing nearby, it is a fun albeit chaotic experience that one is sure to remember until the next Chinese New Year rolls around.