Interview by Rui Pastorin
The free admission “Celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Snake” party, an annual event, was hosted at Albergue SCM* at Igreja de S. Lázaro (瘋堂斜巷) last night, with various activities held for revellers of all ages.
Yesterday marked the Lantern Festival, which indicates the end of the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations and is held on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, during the full moon.
Organised by CAC – Círculo dos Amigos da Cultura de Macau (“Circle of the Friends of Macau’s Culture”), last night’s event saw the distribution of festive snacks, which had many queueing up for, along with music performances and a free eight-session workshop entitled DIY Frog** Button Accessory Workshop that started in the afternoon.
CAC President Carlos Marreiros, told the Post in an interview last night that the event has been held for more than 15 years and is one of two parties that the group holds annually, with the other being the Mid-Autumn Festival themed party.
Marreiros, an architect by profession and artist by passion, said that every year the CNY party gathers people to eat, especially round-shaped food such as the traditional tangyuan, which are sweet glutinous rice balls filled with ingredients like sesame or red bean. Moreover, being in Macau, the event also sees “encounters of culture”, with Portuguese and Macanese delicacies also available, Marreiros pointed out.
“We are happy, as organisers, to see so many people participating”, including those who come every year, according to Marreiros. He added that the people who attended last night were of all ages and from different walks of life, being happy to be able to eat and chat with others.
Moreover, last night’s event saw the launch of two simultaneous exhibitions. The first is entitled “An Alluring Inheritance of Beauty: Chinese Cheongsam Exhibition”, which showcases 16 cheongsams*** from different periods at Gallery A2 until March 16 and is held in collaboration with the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI).
The second exhibition, which will be on until February 23, is the “Chinese Calligraphy Art Exhibition 2025”, which showcases the works of calligraphy master Choi Chuen Heng, who was also present at yesterday’s event. Aside from extending CNY wishes, those attending were also able to watch Choi in action as he painted and interacted with attendees in Hall D1, the exhibition venue.
*SCM stands for Santa Casa da Misericórdia (“Holy House of Mercy”), Macau’s oldest charitable organisation.
**AI (Artificial Intelligence) chatbot Poe notes that frog buttons refer to “a type of decorative button often used in traditional Chinese clothing, particularly on garments like qipaos or cheongsams”.
***According to Wiktionary, cheongsam is a tight-fitting Chinese formal woman’s dress, usually brightly coloured, patterned and/or embroidered, with a split to the thigh.
Revellers take part in the different activities in last night’s “Celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Snake” at Albergue SCM. – Photos: Rui Pastorin
