Motormouth: New Year must have new gear, but clothes are much cheaper than cars

Buying a brand-new set of clothes and shoes for Chinese New Year is much easier than getting a lucky red car.

[Story by guest columnist Tan Ah Lin]

Chinese families welcoming another Year of whichever zodiac animal go through the customary Lunar process of out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new. 

Indeed, Lunar New Year celebrations are always associated with all things new - new clothes, new shoes, new furniture, new decorations, and even new cars.

Chinese New Year, as its name indicates, is the most important holiday period for Chinese folks everywhere, especially those in China, which has observed the Spring Festival (the original Middle Kingdom version of CNY) for over 3,000 years. 

In the run-up to the annual celebrations, consumers are in a buying frenzy, and sellers are thanking their Gods of Wealth for what must be record sales. Extra shipments of festive products, from snacks to couplets, are rushed to stores and bazaars to meet the projected pre-CNY increase in demand.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the proportion of new cars in auspicious red is also higher than usual, since red has traditionally been associated with luck. Lucky motorcars for lucky motorists.  

If only we can all afford to change new cars like we do with clothes. 

We buy new clothes all the time, maybe as frequently as every other weekend, and usually without much hesitation, depending on whether we have busted our current month’s retail-therapy budget. 

But for most of us who drive every day (for pleasure and not for “pirate taxi” work), a new car comes along only once every few years if we’re fortunate/prosperous enough. 

Getting decked out in nice new clothes is less impressive than driving an "ang pow" car for Chinese New Year visitations.

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