THE Chinese community will take the Lunar New Year tradition and cultural activities online as people celebrate their festivities amid the movement control order (MCO)

Jenjarom in Selangor is one such area where the Chinese community has fully taken advantage of the virtual sphere to celebrate the Year of the Ox.

The popular Dong Zen temple in Jenjarom has moved its activities online and people can view its annual light show online in virtual reality (VR).

Temple president Ang Boon Seng told The Malaysian Insight that Jenjarom had always been a gathering point for all local civil society groups for cultural activities to foster a sense of community.

The “Happy Village” initiative has been going for seven years now, while the temple’s light show has been running for 16 years.

“This year, we have taken the cultural activities online,” Ang said.

He said the village had contemplated suspending the celebrations this year when the situation was still looking grim two months ago, but a meeting of local civil society groups decided to take it online.

“You can say we had a breakthrough this year, or that we turned a crisis into an opportunity, because after we decided to take things online, we have received greater response than anticipated,” Ang said.

This year, Happy Village has organised 10 events, including cultural and culinary activities, and antique shows, which can be viewed on the Happy Village Jenjarom YouTube channel.

It is also the only channel dedicated to the Chinese New Year celebrations run by a new village.

“You can view it repeatedly online, especially since nobody can go out this festive season, all members of the family can watch these activities together,” he said.

Ang said the whole team had the attitude of “life goes on even in these difficult times” and managed to solve most issues smoothly.

“We actually received a better response this time because you can reach a bigger audience online,” he said.

Ang said, even though the response has been great, it was still a shame that the element of bonding with others was missing.

“If the pandemic is over by next year, we’ll revive the activities in-person, and will also keep up the online platforms, so people who wish to avoid crowds can still enjoy the activities,” he said.

The government’s latest standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Chinese New Year celebrations and cultural activities also put a cap on the number of people allowed in temples and houses of worship.

However, Dong Zen will continue to keep its doors closed for the time being and has similarly moved its operations online instead so people can participate in online blessing ceremonies.

Online blessings from Thean Hou Temple

One of the most prominent temples when it comes to Chinese New Year celebrations is Kuala Lumpur’s Thean Hou Temple, which is also one of the city’s main tourist attractions.

Selangor and Federal Territory Hainan Association president Tang Chai Yoong said the temple’s celebrations this year are themed “turning things around like an ox”.

He said many of the activities had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, but the association had still managed to move many of them online for the sake of preserving culture.

“There were many performances such as lion dances, fireworks, and seeking the blessing of the Goddess of Mercy, giving tribute to the elders and as such. Many of these have been cancelled.

“However, there will be a monk conducting the blessing ritual in the hall and chant prayers, broadcast through Facebook live,” Tang said.

He added that Thean Hou continues to shoulder the responsibility of preserving Chinese culture and will take these activities online so young people can participate.

“Since the first MCO was implemented, we had already made preparations to go online, plus we have staff who are very experienced in these cultural activities and we had no big issues turning these into online events,” he said.

Tang said people are also more accepting of holding these events online due to the new normal.

“Although these can’t be held in-person and lack the festive spirit as a result, we could reach more youth online, and the Chinese community elsewhere even in other parts of the world can also participate and watch our celebrations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tang said Thean Hou temple had also opened its doors to allow worshippers in accordance with the government’s SOP.

“Yet this is by appointments online, eight hours a day. We also had to sanitise eight times in a day, and can only accommodate 240 people per day. That works out to 720 people across three days,” he said.

Other than those who made appointments, he said, the general public is not allowed to enter. – February 12, 2021.