300,000 spectators expected at Johor Bahru’s Chingay Parade

In Johor Bahru, the eve of Chinese New Year launches a series of celebrations starting with a communal gathering at the Johor Ancient Temple.

For the past 20 years, a long-standing tradition of early morning prayer at the temple followed by an New Year open house celebration organised by the Johor Bahru Tiong-Hua Association had been practiced with vigilance.

The Chinese community of Johor Bahru, have been practicing a traditional 3-day celebration for the Johor Ancient Temple’s 5 deities.

The Chingay Parade has become a multicultural event attracting around 300,000 spectators during its three day parade.

During this celebration the deities will be brought out from the temple on sedan chairs and a procession will ensue. Each of the deities are separately worshipped by “Teochew”, “Hoklo (Hokkien)”, “Cantonese”, “Hakka” and “Hainan” people.

The 3-day Chingay Parade hosts a vast variety of culturally linked performances like the Chinese opera, big doll, traditional cultural dance, lions and dragon dance performance and an array of exotic floats will be exhibited during the parade.

This year the grand celebration will start on the 11th to 13th February. The grand celebratory night is on 12th of February 2012.