Chinese Lunar New Year’s Day, or Trut Jeen, fell on January 31 this year. The Chinese don’t work on this particular day, since it implies bad luck — then it is hard work for the whole of the following year.

Therefore, the last house-cleaning and preparation takes place on New Year’s Eve, which is also a day for ancestor worship and a reunion dinner with the whole family. A typical feast — boiled whole chicken, stewed pig, roasted pork, duck, nee koay, or New Year’s cake, and fruits — is prepared in the morning and arranged before the ancestors’ shrines as an offering. After the incense sticks have completely burned, the food is collected for the family meal.

At midnight, firecrackers are set off to welcome the New Year. During the day, Chinese worshippers of Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy, fill the Chinese temples.

On Phuket, people visit the Thai Buddhist temple of Wat Chalong for its annual Chinese New Year celebration and to worship the statue of Luang Por Cham, a highly revered local monk. In this festive season, a typical gift is ang pao, a red envelope containing money.

The ninth day after the Chinese New Year Day, people set candlelit altar tables with two sugarcane stalks in front of their houses along the streets of Phuket Town. Entertainers present puppet and dragon shows, in honour of the gods, before the altar of one house after another. When the show is finished, people give the puppeteers and dragon dancers money in red envelopes.

Ching Ming Day, or Cheng Beng at Phuketians call it, usually falls in early April. Chinese people visit their ancestors’ graveyards some days before to clean up the graves and repaint inscriptions. On Cheng Beng Day itself food offerings are placed in front of the graves before being taken home as a family feast.

In traditional Chinese belief, the seventh lunar month is regarded as a month for the hungry ghosts. The gates of hell are opened at midnight of the last day of the sixth moon, and these ghosts get to revisit the earth for one month. If they aren’t fed and otherwise paid respect by their relatives, these deserted spirits can be malicious, and people appease them with offerings of food.

This is also the time to pay homage to the god of devils, known to Chinese as "Por Tor Kong", and, hence, the name of the festival. On Phuket, the god of devils has a special shrine near Bang Neaw Primary School. Outside, a temporary stage is set up for likay, a Thai folk performance, and outdoor movies. Rows of tables are also laid out to display the principal offering: various sizes of red, turtle-shaped cakes made of sticky rice flour and sugar. Symbolizing longevity, turtles, in this case artificial, are used to pay respect to the god of devils, thanking him for another year of unharmed life. Another venue to see the fair is the Pud Jor Shrine, near the central market in Phuket Town, where a great selection of beautifully carved fruits and vegetables are displayed.

For the first nine days of the Chinese ninth lunar month, or around October, both cultists and the majority of ordinary Phuketians practise a vegetarian regimen and refrain from sinful conduct, including killing, arguing, telling lies, having sex and drinking alcohol. White clothes are also worn, symbolizing a purified body and mind in dedication to the Nine Emperor Gods. Many restaurants supplement their menus with vegetarian dishes, and most local food shops fly yellow flags, signalling a temporary change from serving meat to vegetarian fare.

Expect to see miraculous (and sometimes gruesome) acts during street processions of devotees of the Nine Emperor Gods, where mediums pierce themselves through both cheeks with spikes, swords or, these days, just about anything you can imagine. Spectators should beware of firecrackers thrown into the parade, and are advised to wear earplugs. Various holy ceremonies are also conducted at Chinese temples, including fire walking, climbing ladders of sharp blades, and dippings in hot oil. Wear white to blend in, and don’t miss the great variety of delicious veggie dishes around the island.