Chinese New Year was to me...
1. BUYING NEW CLOTHES!!!
As the youngest among my siblings, most of my clothes were second hand/third hand from my 2 elder sisters. Chinese New Year every year, was almost the ONLY time I could buy new clothes that I liked. And I always hoped that it would fall on either right before or after a weekend so that we had 3 days of celebration. MEANING 3 SETS OF CLOTHES! :p Muahahahaha...
2. ANG BAO aka red packets
What else? Of course ang bao!
I still remember I was always going to the toilet because I wanted to check on the among of angbao money inside. :P At the end of the new year celebration, we would calculate how much we got, and save them in our bank accounts. :D
3. FOOD
Bak Kwa! Sweet! Soft Drinks! New Year goodies and pineapple tarts!
My mum never really allowed me to eat junkies when I was younger because those were lacking in nutrients and unhealthy. So CNY was the only time it was 'legal' to eat! (but I always fell ill after CNY due to heatiness. lol)
4. New Year Greeting to Parents
I still remember I would start thinking of the new year greeting to my parents way before the 1st day of lunar new year. Since I am the youngest, I was usually the last to greet my parents. (unless my sisters give in to me) So I would standby many extra greeting just in case my sisters went before me and said all those I prepared. :P
My list usually included:
新年快乐， 万事如意/事事如意，身体健康，笑口常开
Extras:
出入平安， 恭喜发财，年年有余，大吉大利！
I remember 1 of the years during my primary school days, I said "年年有今日，虽虽有近照” and got laughed at by my whole family cause that's a birthday wish, not a new year wish! :D
5. Spring cleaning and deco!
We would clean and scrub our house! I remember taking a toothbrush and scrub every corner and in between every tiles! hahaha... hardworking no? We pasted angbaos, made them into lanterns or paste the '福 'or ‘春’ paper on our doors.:D My sister would do the paper cuts and hang around the house too!
It's a sad thing that our chinese traditions are getting more and more diluted each year. We are capable of buying clothes as and when we want. (Best. ONLINE!) We don't really use the chinese new year wishes anymore. Even the new year goodies turned into potato chips and chocolates (leftover from Christmas).:p
I wonder how it's gonna change in the coming years. Hopefully I will still be able to share some of these Chinese New Year traditions with my son when he is slightly older. :) What do you think?
Happy Chinese New Year to ALL my friends!
May the Year of the Dragon bring you great JOY, PEACE and LOVE!
May your household be blessed with wealth and great health!
And may the Rabbit hop off carrying ALL your uphappiness and worries!!!
CHEERS,
Kaye
