Revellers at Albergue SCM last night were undeterred by stubborn rain as they continued to celebrate the open-air “Celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Horse” Party.
Yesterday evening’s annual one-night event was presented by CAC – Círculo dos Amigos da Cultura de Macau (“Circle of the Friends of Macau’s Culture”) and Albergue SCM. Celebrating the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar and marks the final day of the Chinese New Year celebrations, the event saw a slow trickle of participants arriving, some armed with umbrellas.
Whether sheltering under the overhang of a building or umbrellas, attendees joined to savour free festive snacks, listen to music performances, and watch a master calligrapher at work as well as view a new related exhibition titled “Success with Horses – Works by Choi Chun Heng and his Treasured Collections” that also kicked off last night, among other activities.
Attendees gathering at one of the two exhibition venues witnessed calligraphy master Choi at work, and received fai chun (揮春), or couplets, conveying good wishes and messages for the coming year.
Secretary of the CAC General Assembly Karena Lao (劉芷蕎) told the Post in an interview last night that unpredictable weather will always be an issue when holding outdoor events. However, for last night, she noted that a continued general passion for the celebration still drove people to come irrespective of the wet weather. “I think the public are generally very passionate about this celebration, so even though the weather is not that good, I can still see a lot of newcomers”, she said.
She highlighted that most attendees to the annual event are normally made up of families, kids and seniors, pointing out that for the latter, they prepare food that is both suitable for their tastes as well as being easy to handle and enjoy. “They can eat it here or maybe they can take it home and enjoy it there”, according to Lao.
The festive event is aimed at celebrating the new year with members of the public. Alongside the annual Mid-Autumn Festival party in September, the CNY party has been held since around 2009, with the organisers doing their best to hold them annually, Lao noted.
The exhibition will be on until April 16, with more details and photos in an upcoming page 4.
Revellers, braving unyielding rain, take part in a host of activities at the annual Celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Horse” Party at Albergue SCM last night. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
