Mike Shopping Mall Observes Chinese New Year.

            



          Chinese New year in  Pattaya

Lisu New Year Chiangrai

New Year in the mountain villages of the Lisu people is certainly one of the most vibrant and colourful. The four days and nights during which the Lisu indulge in dancing, singing and drinking coincide with Chinese New Year as the somewhat sinicized Lisu still adhere to the Chinese lunar calendar — usually at the end of January or in the first half of February. For them, the celebrations are more than just about having fun; they are the ultimate expression of their cultural identity.
Visiting a Lisu village during New Year is a rewarding experience, as outsiders are warmly welcomed to the festivities, while the crowds of dancing villagers dressed up in their most elaborately decorated costumes are a photographer’s delight. Although many remote Lisu villages can only be reached by a dusty and bumpy ride on a dirt road, at least a dozen are situated along a major asphalt-surfaced road and so are relatively easy to get to.
The preparations for the festivities take place well in advance. Most households will ensure they have a stock of liquor at home, beginning to distil it as soon as they have harvested their corn and rice after the rainy season. Over many weeks, even months before the New Year, the women will be engaged in making new, eye-catching costumes that will be at centre stage during the New Year festivities. Women working on their sewing machines in front of their huts are a characteristic feature of any modern Lisu village in Thailand.
In the past, much of the colourful fabrics for these costumes was woven at home, but nowadays virtually all is bought in town. In December or early January, you may spot many Lisu women in the textile shops near Chiang Mai’s Worarot Market choosing a selection of the most colourful fabrics on offer there during the clearance sales. Some three decades or so ago, this was the time when most of them had just harvested and sold their opium, and consequently, much of the income from their cash crop was invested directly in the New Year’s celebrations.
The Lisu from China’s Yunnan province started to cross into Burma during the tumultuous second half of the nineteenth century. During the 1910s, the first groups began to settle in Thai territory — Doi Chang in Chiang Rai province is thought to have been the kingdom’s first Lisu village. From then on, more Lisu migrants followed, so their settlements are now scattered throughout the northern parts of Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai en Chiang Rai provinces.
CHIANGRAI TIMES

Countdown

 
Countdown to New Year 2012 in Pattaya
The countdown to the New Year 2012 is now well underway. With the Christmas holiday
period over, and all the turkey and goodies having been digested, we all have one more
worldwide celebration to look forward to with the welcoming in of the New Year 2012.
Here in Pattaya, the occasion promises to be bigger and better than ever with an
extravaganza of entertainment planned by City Hall and the private business sector.
Especially with the economy seemingly having picked up amazingly, we are now seeing
fully booked hotels, restaurants and shopping malls filled with tourists, enjoying the free
seasonal illuminations adorning the shops. People are flocking into the stores taking
advantage of the many promotions being held in places such as Central Festival Pattaya
Beach Mall, the biggest seaside shopping mall in South East Asia, where hundreds of
products from the shops in the massive store are handed out in a lucky draw.Items such
as Ipods and digital cameras were amongst the prizes. To add to the build up, a New
Year’s countdown ceremony was held at Bali Hai Pier on Christmas Day attended by
Chonburi Governor Mr. Komsan Ekachai, Pattaya Mayor Ittipol Khunplume, Chonburi MP
Region 7 Mr. Poramate Ngampichet and Secretary to the Ministry of Transport,
Mr. Chanyut Hengrakool. Absolutely everyone is invited to the Pattaya Count Down
2012, to be entertained by Rock Bands like Big Ass, Potato, Titanium, Kala, Bodyslam,
Klear, Joey Boy and many more, plus Look Toong Thai Country Style Music performances
from Yingyong Yodbuangaam and Apaporn Nakhonsawan.
Pattaya People