The quintessential time of the year is here again - where children look forward to the gifts and adults talk nonsense the whole day while the children, well, look forward to the gifts.
And I'm not talking about Christmas either.
It's Chinese New Year.
Money! Food! Fun! Irritating relatives! Sore throats! What excitement awaits all during the Lunar New Year. It's always such a grand thing and it's one of the highlights of the year.
No actually, I don't.
Let's spell out the reasons. First, I don't visit many relatives during new year. That has been the norm ever since I had a conscious memory and it hasn't changed a beep since. Every year, I don old clothes (except for a new jacket this year) and go to my uncle's place for 3 days in a row, eat and ROT TO DEATH AFTERWARD. I guess I do join in the occasional game of mah-jong, which I lose in a spectacular explosion of banknotes. So I give up, walk to the dining table, eat myself silly and spectacularly explode in a confetti of lap cheong and red barbecued meat. Suffice to say, the only thing that Iook forward to is the familiar red packets, contained wherein are highly sensitive documents of intrinsic value which only must be opened by the end user.
Has CNY lost its value? Has visitation turned into a green-eyed, meaningless action befitting its intended purpose of nothing but acquiring the most number of red packets and then doing nothing after that? The answer for some might be an affirmative one, because they - like I - have been sufficiently jaded by past experiences to have lost all faith in the value and meaning of proper rites and values of CNY to have only left the sole purpose of visiting and reaping the tangible benefits - ang pao.
To those more trad ones, however, who still treasure the warmth and familiarity that Chinese New Year brings to your hearts, the only thing I can wish you is to have fun and continued prosperity throughout the year acquired through your visits and reaffirmation of your Chinese roots.
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL THOSE HAPPY/SAD/RICH/POOR PEOPLE!!! =D
And I'm not talking about Christmas either.
It's Chinese New Year.
Money! Food! Fun! Irritating relatives! Sore throats! What excitement awaits all during the Lunar New Year. It's always such a grand thing and it's one of the highlights of the year.
No actually, I don't.
Let's spell out the reasons. First, I don't visit many relatives during new year. That has been the norm ever since I had a conscious memory and it hasn't changed a beep since. Every year, I don old clothes (except for a new jacket this year) and go to my uncle's place for 3 days in a row, eat and ROT TO DEATH AFTERWARD. I guess I do join in the occasional game of mah-jong, which I lose in a spectacular explosion of banknotes. So I give up, walk to the dining table, eat myself silly and spectacularly explode in a confetti of lap cheong and red barbecued meat. Suffice to say, the only thing that Iook forward to is the familiar red packets, contained wherein are highly sensitive documents of intrinsic value which only must be opened by the end user.
Has CNY lost its value? Has visitation turned into a green-eyed, meaningless action befitting its intended purpose of nothing but acquiring the most number of red packets and then doing nothing after that? The answer for some might be an affirmative one, because they - like I - have been sufficiently jaded by past experiences to have lost all faith in the value and meaning of proper rites and values of CNY to have only left the sole purpose of visiting and reaping the tangible benefits - ang pao.
To those more trad ones, however, who still treasure the warmth and familiarity that Chinese New Year brings to your hearts, the only thing I can wish you is to have fun and continued prosperity throughout the year acquired through your visits and reaffirmation of your Chinese roots.
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL THOSE HAPPY/SAD/RICH/POOR PEOPLE!!! =D
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