Chinese New Year, one of my favourite festivals because of the great festive mood, the goodies, the family & relative gatherings & of course, the 'ban luck' get-togethers. It's a time for all of us, including my cousins, to play black jack, with coins we've saved for the year plus our display of 'lucky charms'.
We don't promote gambling even we grew up in the world of mahjongs. It's just our annual family tradition which includes the young & old. The youngest in the group was about K1 a couple of years back. Now, he's already in P6.
The stakes - 20 cents. The more daring or greedy ones would go for 50 cents or rarely, $1.
Our favourite star player - Ah Por. We enjoyed watching her taking peeks at her cards, her comments & expressions when she draws an 'ah pek' (King) or 'ah ma' (Queen) card. Cos she tends to overdraw & would usually exceed the '21 points'. She always says she could take the risks since our stakes are 'peanuts' to her ;p
For the past 2 nights, we've been playing till midnight & fortunately, the neighbours didn't complain about the din we've created. & it gets more thrilling when we end the game with "Tim" - a game with only one winner & it gets everyone excited when the pool of winning gets bigger if there's a tie.
I've won every year - the joy & happiness. That was all it matters.
This was an exceptionally busy year for me. For the first time, I did an almost thorough cleaning. Perhaps partly because I've bought some new cleaning products recently which are environmentally friendly & less harmful to our bodies as they contain natural products as opposed to the strong chemical products I had used in the past. Plus, it's quite effective and comes with an economical price too! I was so fascinated with one of the products that I went round spraying at any stains I could find in the house. Anyone keen can let me know as it's not sold off the shelves.
Being an auntie, of course I'd follow some of the customs & traditions like buying 发糕, 年糕 & leek. As this isn't a good year for the horsies, I've to go the extra mile to ensure that the year would be a smooth year with less misfortunes.
List of Auntie customs for your reference which I've gathered over the years:
1. No hanging of clothes, especially undies. I suppose God of Wealth, just like us, wouldn't like the sight of such personal items when we do visiting.
2. Deposit money on the first day of the solar year '立春' (which falls on 4 Feb this year) - it has to be money from someone else preferably. This symbolises that you'll have money coming your way.
3. Work on '立春' - this symbolises that you'll have work to do for the rest of the year or rather, you'll have a job. Well if you aspire to be a tai tai, you can then choose to take leave on that day :)
4. Having good food on CNY's eve - symbolises you'll have a bountiful year ahead.
5. Closing the door when you have your reunion dinner - well, my mum says this will keep the good fortune within the house.
6. Switching on all the lights in the house till dawn - supposed to bring good wealth & fortune. Think I'd just turn on the lights in the living room next year...since it was rather disruptive to my sleep as it's been quite some time since I've done that @-@
7. Giving ang pows '压岁钱' to your parents/ grandparents if you're a working adult & for parents to give to their kids when they are young - supposed to
8. Wearing new clothes & shoes on the 1st day of CNY & preferably, the colour that's suppose to bring to good luck and fortune.
9. Not sweeping on the 1st day of CNY - this would mean sweeping away the good luck in your house.
10. Not using knife or any sharp objects on the 1st day of CNY - can't remember exactly what this symbolises but I suppose this will prevent something bad from happening for the rest of the year. So if you need to cook, then prepare everything the night before.
I suppose there could be more but I think this should suffice & sometimes it's really better not to know too many of such practices. But I thought it's kinda fun to follow some of these traditions & customary practices & you'll appreciate them more when you understand the rationale, not to mention that it increases the festive mood too.
I used to dislike going visiting when I was in my teens. Perhaps that's part of growing up. I disliked the crowd, I felt it was meaningless having to see the same people, saying the same things, doing the same stuff year after year. I'd rather stay at home to watch TV. I even thought of choosing a job that requires me to work on these festive occasions. I'm glad I didn't & am grateful everyone in the family are able to celebrate together.
As I grow older, somehow, my perspective changes. Perhaps due to certain events that happened along the way. I began to see CNY as an opportunity to meet up with family members & relatives & bond with them. It was meaningless to me then because I didn't bother or treasure the relationships . I began to appreciate the extended family relationships. Seeing my cousins growing up & observing certain common 'teens syndromes' reminded me of how I was like them then. Seeing my uncles, aunts, elder relatives growing older each year when I see them reminds me to treasure the moments spent with them. I do hope that my next generation could still go for new year visitations & see the value & meaning of these celebrations.
Those nagging or awkward questions during such visits like when are you getting married? When are you having your first child? When are you having your next child? etc. My FAQ for this season is "When's your turn (to have the 1st child)?". Well, if anyone can help me to overcome my phobia of morning sickness, pls share with me. For a short & simple answer for some, well, I haven't had any motherly instincts yet ;p
If you regard those questions are asked out of concern, I suppose you might feel much better instead of taking them personally & regard them as sore questions. I'm sure in a year, you could think of creative ways to answer them.
Do remember to share your joy & happiness with the less forunate too.
Have a healthy, smooth-sailing & a blessed New Year!
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