Arriving at the tailend of Ongpin in Binondo for the January 25, 2020 Chinese lunar new year festivities, there were noticeably fewer people compared to lunar new year festivities of previous years.
Of course much of this had to do with the coronavirus scare, which has pretty much swept across China, the epicenter of the epidemic, and greater portion of Asia, including the Philippines.
Said to originate from the central city of Wuhan in China by way of transmission from animals to humans, the new strain of coronavirus has affected tens of thousands of individuals leading to hundreds of deaths. There is as yet no known cure for the new disease caused by the said strain, now referred to by the World Health Organization (WHO) as COVID-19, or the corona virus disease of 2019.
In Binondo, the streets were not as crowded, with lots of space in between people to move around in and get close to dragon dancers hopping from one shop to the next with hong baos in tow.
Even shops selling lucky charms, crystals, and amulets were not as full, with trickles of visitors in surgical face masks looking at the wares momentarily before leaving without touching anything.
The generally sober mood was a stark contrast to the usual way Binondo celebrates Chinese new year. This did not, however, dampen the resolve of the few who were there to try to make the most out of the situation: dragon dancers continued to dance to the cadence of familiar drumbeats, Chinese snacks were on sale for everybody to buy, vendors were hawking lucky charms and trinkets, and the color red pervaded much of the visual space in what in previous years would have been a rowdy, noisy, and raucuous day.
It's an ominous start for the lunar year, and in the middle of uncertainties and fear, it is the hope that things will get better in the days ahead.
Happy Chinese lunar new year! Xīnnián kuàilè! 新年快乐 !
How was your celebration of the Chinese lunar new year? Share your experience and thoughts in the comments section below.
