North-South-东-西

Saturday, 21 February 2026

River Hongbao 40 春到河畔

Singapore - Gardens By The Bay

新加坡 — 滨海湾花园

This year is the Year of the Horse, and River Hongbao has galloped into its 40th year.

今年是马年，而春到河畔也迈入了它的第40个年头。

Tuesday, 17 February 2026

Money 马昵

Singapore - Chinatown

新加坡 — 牛车水

This year is the Year of the Horse, and a golden horse appeared in Chinatown!

今年是马年，牛车水就出现了一匹黄金马！

The majority of Singapore's Chinese population originated from Fujian.

新加坡的华人人口祖籍大部分来自福建。

In the Fujian dialect, the word "year" is pronounced as "ni".

在福建话中，“年”的发音是“昵”。

In Thai, "come here" is read as "mani", which sounds similar to the English word "money".

在泰语中，“过来”读作“mani”，发音与英语单词“钱”相似。

Wishing all readers of this article a prosperous and auspicious Year of the Horse!

祝愿所有阅读本文的读者马年吉祥如意，万事如意！

"Mani Money" - "Come here, Money"

“马昵、马昵” — “钱，过来”

Sunday, 15 February 2026

Little Chinese New Year's Eve 小年夜

Singapore - Chinatown

新加坡 — 牛车水

Today is the eve of the Chinese New Year's Eve, which is also known as "Little Chinese New Year's Eve".

今天是"小年夜"，也就是除夕前夜。

The origin of the "Little Chinese New Year's Eve" can be traced back to the "Kitchen God Festival".

“小年夜”的定义源自“祭灶节”。

The "Kitchen God Festival" is a traditional folk custom among Chinese people in northern and parts of southern China, where they worship the "Kitchen God" (Zao Wang Ye).

“祭灶节”是中国北方与部分南方地区的华人传统民俗中祭祀“灶神”（灶王爷）的节日。

Beginning in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, the local community no longer regarded the "Kitchen God Festival" as the Little New Year; instead, they called New Year's Eve "Big Chinese New Year's Eve" and the night before it "Little Chinese New Year's Eve".

元末明初开始，当地不再以“祭灶节”为小年，而是将除夕夜称为“大年夜”，其前一夜则称为“小年夜”。

The customs of the "Little Chinese New Year's Eve" in Jiangnan have greatly influenced the Min-speaking regions with close trading connections.

江南“小年夜”的习俗对与其贸易往来密切的闽语地区产生了很大影响。

To this day, most parts of Fujian and Taiwan still observe the eve of the Chinese New Year as the Little New Year.

时至今日，福建和台湾的大部分地区仍然以除夕前夜为小年。