'Open houses' feature high on the list of festivities planned in Brunei

For yoga teacher Oh Dee Xiang, celebrating Spring Festival in Brunei means a lot of "open houses".

"We go to our friends' and relatives' homes. There's lots of eating, watching lion dances and giving hongbao," she said, referring to the traditional red envelopes containing cash gifts.

Bruneians celebrate major festivals by holding "open houses"－inviting friends, colleagues and neighbors to their homes for a day of feasting.

Freelance writer and translator Shareen Han said Chinese families organize open houses to encourage relatives and friends to visit. They offer Lunar New Year greetings to each other, and this leads to closer ties.

Han said prawn crackers, cookies and kueh－local cakes－are a staple of most open house celebrations.

She is expecting a busy week as her family prepares for Spring Festival. It will begin by carrying out the annual spring cleaning "to get rid of dirt or bad luck". Han and her siblings will then decorate the house with traditional lanterns, and paste fu, or good fortune, characters on doors and walls.

On Lunar New Year's Eve, which falls on Friday, the family will burn incense and joss sticks as offerings for deceased ancestors. Han's mother will also be busy in the kitchen with the annual family reunion dinner. Various dishes will be served, each representing some of the family's hopes for the coming year.

"We will feast on poached whole chicken (symbolizing rebirth or completeness), Hainanese fish maw soup, roast pork (representing wealth), roast duck and vegetable dishes, which symbolize good family ties and prosperity," Han said.

On Lunar New Year's Day, Han will go to a temple to pray for blessings and protection during the Year of the Rat.

Debbie Too, a banker, said she will drive to her parents' house on the first day of Spring Festival to light a joss stick in front of the family altar and say a prayer.

"I have adopted my husband's family traditions. They are less religious than mine, so they focus on catching up with everyone each year," she said.

As a child, Too said morning prayers with her family on Lunar New Year's Day, and she intends to continue this tradition. She also expects her mother to serve the customary meal of oranges, pineapples, tea and sweets－all of which are meant to attract health and wealth for the new year.

Brunei is home to more than 40,000 ethnic Chinese, accounting for about 10 percent of the sultanate's predominantly Malay population. Some of them are descendants of traders who arrived during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In 1929, the discovery of oil in the northeastern district of Seria also attracted Chinese migrants.

One of the most prominent Chinese merchants in Brunei during the early 20th century was Cheok Boon Siok, who donated land in 1918 to build a Chinese temple.

The Teng Yun Temple, which overlooks the Brunei River in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital, remains a focal point for the Chinese community.

Most visitors to this Taoist temple on Lunar New Year's Day pay respects to their ancestors, burn joss sticks and incense, and pray for good health, peace and prosperity for the coming year. Later, they watch a lion dance performance.

The temple is one of the few public places in Brunei where the government allows lion dances to be staged. The use of firecrackers and fireworks has been banned for safety reasons.

Spring Festival celebrations in Brunei last 15 days, with another big family dinner usually held on the final day.

In addition to "open houses", some people use the holiday to travel and bond with family members. Others enjoy holding reunion dinners in hotels and restaurants.

Preparations for Spring Festival are in full swing across Asia. In the Philippines, feng shui consultants are giving advice on auspicious colors and decorations for the Year of the Rat.

In the Malaysian city of Ipoh, home to a large ethnic Chinese population, vendors are selling green bamboo plants－popular home decorations－as they symbolize prosperity and happiness.

Lion dance performances and red lanterns feature on the streets of Chinatown in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia.