I believe this picture is not taken in Singapore but overseas. I can infer from the firecrackers both of the men are holding on. Firecrackers are permitted in Singapore and are not sold in any stores island wide in Singapore. Hence, this pictures must be taken overseas and in a Chinese country. This picture is probably taken during Chinese New Year and in china. From what I know, Chinese usually light fire crackers during auspicious occasions. The people can be seen wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants. I think the weather must be cold in that particular country and may be experiencing winter at that point in time. As mentioned earlier, the picture is taken during winter and the people are said to be celebrating Chinese New Year. Similarly in China, Chinese New Year happen to fall in the season winter hence, there is a high chance that this picture is taken in China.

From what i can see in the background, the building is build in a very tradition way. A lantern can be seen hanging out of the building. The tiles on the outside of the house are arranged in a very tradition way which is very similar to those houses you would see in the village side of China. I reckoned the building belongs to the 2 men lighting the fire crackers. Then, i concluded that the men on the left might be the father of the men on the right. The family should be living in the village as vegetation can be seen at the background. In the urban area of China, high rise building should be seen and spaces between each house would not be very big. Hence, with the evidence mentioned earlier on, I think that this picture is taken in the countryside of China. Smoke can be seen in the air therefore i can conclude that the firecracker on the right had been lighted. Pieces of red paper can be seen on the ground which belongs to the firecrackers.

The small child at the left side of the picture seems to be running away. I think that is because of the loud piercing sound of the firecrackers. From my experience, loud sound would be heard once the firecracker is lighted up. During Chinese New Year, my family went down to Chinatown to witness the lighting of firecrackers. Though we were standing quite far away, we could still clearly hear the noise produced. I can understand why the child is running away. Small children are usually afraid of loud noise. This is why no children can be seen in the picture except for one. I think that the rest had probably went to hide at a far away place in order to minimize the amount of noise they can hear. I concluded that the boy seen in the picture is brave as he did not run away before the firecracker is lighted.

Though lighting firecrackers may be dangerous, but it does enhance the atmosphere of Chinese New Year. In Singapore, only if we go to Chinatown, then we would be able to feel the happiness of New Year. In other country, wherever you go, you would be able to sense the happiness and excitement in the air. The difference in atmosphere may be partly due to firecrackers and people nowadays are busier with their work. This in turn reduce the time adults have for resting, in that case, adults would not spend effort in decorating their houses. I believe that decorating the house will definitely add on to the atmosphere of Chinese New year. Therefore, no matter how busy my family members are, we would always spend time and decorate the house with auspicious red stuffs such as “happy new year”, “prosperity” and so on. I hope more family will do that as Chinese New Year is a festival that belongs to Chinese and we should spend it with joy and laughter.

In my view, I think that after this picture is taken, cheers would be heard and children will start running back happily. Then, they will all gather around the dining table and feast happily. During Chinese New Year, adults will buy all the delicious food for the whole family to consume.

No matter how busy our lives are, we should always spend Chinese New Year with our family. This is a tradition that had been past down and i believe that this should continue. Family is the most important people in our lives and they are the only one that would treat us truthfully. Parents want the best for the children hence we as children should put themselves in their shoes and try to accommodate them.

Desiree Tan(6) 3F