SINGAPORE: While many may no longer opt for a qipao or cheongsam, you’ll still see many red clothes during the Chinese New Year celebration.
Red, after all, is symbolic of good fortune, luck, vitality, celebration, and prosperity, and wearing the vibrant colour is said to ward off evil spirits. But with younger people, maybe not so much, based on some recent posts on the popular Complaint Singapore Facebook page.
Netizen Eden Lim appeared to find dressing down during the Chinese New Year to be not only unattractive but downright disrespectful.
She wrote on Feb 11: “I want complain why CNY nowadays Chinese people all wear until so la(p)sap and ugly for cny? They even wear shorts and ugly t shirt just to go bia nian (sic). Come on la cny is just once a year so please wear something nice la don’t wear shorts and show all your hairy legs.”
To the initiated, lap sap means “dirty” or “sleazy” and “bia nian” refers to the exchange of greetings, angbaos, and/or oranges that people do during CNY.
Ms Lim admonished everyone to “be respectful to your new year wear something nice like your traditional clothes or at least a long pants.”
In a post the next day, she wrote, “I respect Malay people who wear all their nice clothes during their new year.”
At around the same time, another netizen posted along similar lines. Mr Hue David wrote, “How come all the Gen Z wear black during CNY? What’s with the obsession with skimpy clothing and the colour black?”
Unfortunately for the younger set who prefer black, the colour is considered unlucky to wear during CNY festivities because, like white, it’s associated with mourning and death. As for skimpy clothing, let’s just say this is also on trend.
Ms Lim and Mr Hue’s posts have gotten attention from other commenters, many of whom have weighed in. Some agree with Ms Lim, saying it’s a sign of respect for people to dress for the occasion.
Others, however, said that many wealthy people actually dress down and downplay their wealth. Some pointed out that with Singapore’s climate, shorts are better than long pants.
In Mr Hue’s post, others expressed that they missed seeing women in cheongsams or cheongsam-inspired clothing and that women these days dress like they’re going shopping or clubbing.
Some said that to more and more young people, CNY is just another holiday. But others defended the fashion choices of the young, saying that they should be free to dress however they want. /TISG
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