Chinese community all ready to usher in ‘Year of the Boar’

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These ornaments are designed to symbolise the ‘Year of the Boar’.

MIRI: With just two weeks to Lunar New Year, the Chinese here are busy shopping for the festival.

Decorating the house with auspicious ornaments is part of celebrating the spring festival. A popular ornaments and decorations shop here was packed when it opened at 9am yesterday.

According to its spokesperson who wanted to be known only as Chiew, this Chinese New Year ushers in the ‘Year of the Boar’.  As such, she said the shop had imported a lot of adorable plush toys, ceramic figurines and festive ornaments with limited designs of the boar – one of 12 animals represented on the Chinese zodiac calendar.

“People have started buying various decorative products since the end of December, with some designs having already sold out,” she said.

When asked whether they face any sensitivity with these decorative ornaments made with the design of pigs, Chiew said they did not encounter any so far.

The store has this piggy bank, which is covered in gold and has Chinese characters meant to ‘welcome in good fortunes’.

 

“We have some Muslim workers but they have no problem handling the stock. It is up to one’s mentality whether to stir up some issues, or respect each other’s culture,” she said.

Chiew added that the ‘Fortune Cat’ figurines are also very popular as they can be displayed all year long with the hope of bringing in prosperity, especially to businesses.

Such figurine is known as ‘Maneki Neko’ in Japanese, which means ‘beckoning cat’ – the waving left paw symbolises it ‘welcoming good fortunes for its owners’.

 

The shop also sells the ever-popular ‘Fortune Cat’ figurines.

 

Customers choosing their Chinese New Year decorations at the shop in Miri.