Happy Chinese New Year!
Are you wearing lots of red to usher in the New Year?
Technically, the first day of Chinese New Year was 5 days ago, but it lasts 15 days so i'm not too late!
My New Year 'celebrations' this year included a Skype video call with my extended family on Chinese New Year's eve. My aunts, uncles and cousins came over to my parents' house for a reunion dinner so it was especially festive and noisy during the video chat!
It is a tradition for families to gather and visit each other during the new year. The older generation (married couples) hand out red packets (little red money envelopes, or "ang pows") to the younger unmarried juniors and children. Children wish their elders by offering a pair of mandarin oranges in exchange for the red packets. My aunts and uncles were waving red packets in the video call, as I 'offered' a pair of nectarines to them. It was hilarious, but heartwarming to participate (albeit fake) in age-old traditions.
On top of that, I miss all the Chinese New Year goodies too, like my mother's pineapple tarts (which I tried to recreate), kueh bangkit, bak kwa (BBQ pork slices) and all that candy!!
My family is huge, so the children's "ang pow" collection is always very substantial. This year I left Chinese New Year wishes on my relatives' facebook pages and i was like "Dang! This family is growing exponentially!"
My paternal grandfather had 2 wives. His second wife (my grandmother) had 12 children. If I am to be the dividing timeline, most of the cousins older than me are already married with at least one child. The photo below is a picture of my cousins who are younger than me. I'm having a hard time catching up with who has which child in their families!
Happy Chinese New year to all who celebrate this joyous familial tradition.
May you have an awesome Dragon year ahead!
On a side note, the Chinese revere the Dragon. So anyone keen on having Dragon babies, you have about 3 more months to make those Dragon babies! :p
I actually haven't celebrated Chinese New Year this year, but I DID unintentionally wear red quite a bit this week...maybe it was subliminal? Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year :)
ReplyDeleteGong Xi Fa Cai babe! xx
ReplyDeleteGong heyy fatt choi darling!! My grandma was also second wife!! ;) did yOu miss home lots this year?!
ReplyDeleteHappy Chinese New Year! Too bad you couldn't be with your family. Maybe next year... Are you a Dragon by chance? I am :-))
ReplyDeleteYou must miss your family during this period. I come from a very big family - 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Include their kids and their grandkids. We all gather at my mom's and it's so noisy and hilarious. Happy Dragon Year.
ReplyDeleteHappy chinese New Years. Sounds like it was good. I love your blog!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Chinese New Year! The kids at school are doing a dance on Friday. It's so fun!
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