Preparation for the Chinese New Year

A month later after the English New Year, everyone is already talking about the coming Chinese New Year celebrations in February. Although the official two public holidays are on Feb 9th and 10th, many businesses are closed for the whole week while some may even close for the whole 15 days.

We took the week off and the plan was to head down south to Singapore to celebrate the New Year with Geok Lee's family members. We alternate each year between KL and Singapore to have dinner with family on the Eve.

Shopping for the traditional Chinese cakes and cookies is a basic preparation for us. Some cookies may actually be home baked if time permits. This year Sun Fu did some baking too but not the the kind for eating. He continued to burn computer CDs of our family journal which he started doing before Christmas last year to share with friends and family members! Buying Mandarin oranges is also a traditional custom as it is exchanged during the visits to homes of friends and families. For the Cantonese, giving oranges is like giving gold as the Cantonese pronunciation of the orange "Kum" sounds like gold.

It is also the time of the year to bring out our traditional Chinese costumes to wear. You can see these in the photos on the left. We are missing our daughters in their Chinese 'Cheong Sums" so you just have to enjoy the Boys and Mom! If you were wondering who was behind the small Chinese Lion, it's Ray our youngest with his branded cheeky smile!

A visit to China Town in Kuala Lumpur is typical to get many of the Chinese stuff for the new year. The older boys had out grown their Chinese outfits so we got new ones for them. Then we got a fresh bunch of Chinese Pussy Willows for decoration. This year we have an American gal named Kwinci staying in our home in the early part of her world tour. She enjoyed the visit down to China town too and met with other friends as well.

The Ordeal on the day of leaving

We had planned to do some last minute shopping on the morning of the eve and begin our road journey to Singapore. At noon time, we suddenly found out that Shuan's passport had expired! Shuan and Sun Fu quickly hopped on his scrambler/trail bike and took off to the immigration office. It normally takes 3 working days to get a new passport but the officer was helpful to allow it to be done on the same day as the family reunion in Singapore was respected to be important enough for them to rush the passport. A slight hitch was encountered as Shuan had just turned 12 and it was a requirement that he had to submit his identity card for the application. We did apply for one after his twelve birthday but had not collected it yet. This required another dash on the scrambler to another government office and by the time they got back to the immigration office it was already 4pm, half hour to closing time. The officer was already grumbling about how late it was but with a little pleading and desponded look, he agreed to get it done and Shuan got his passport!

We didn't leave for Singapore until after 6pm and instead of arriving in time for the family dinner, we had a late nite supper instead with plenty of food cooked by Geok Lee's oldest brother.

Other things to look forward to for Chinese New Year

It is a big reunion time where we get to see many family members again. By tradition, the youngest would always visit the oldest in the family tree so since Geok Lee and Sun Fu are both the youngest of seven, we would end up visiting all the older relations. In their homes we would also meet up with other younger family members and catch up with them on the things that are happening in their lives.

For the children, they are entitled to get their 'Ang Pows' or red packets containing money as long as they are still single, a symbol of good luck. If we are lucky we can catch some Lion dances in the streets with the frenzy beating of the drums to provide the exciting tempo for the dance.

After Singapore, we will return home and continue the visits to family members as Chinese New Year celebrations last for 15 days. One of the reunions we look forward to is that of Sun Fu's old school mates from St John's Institution. It has become an annual affair for this gathering in our home in a pot-luck dinner style held on the first Saturday after the children return back to school. Pictured on the left is the traditional stirring or tossing of the raw fish dish for good luck and prosperity taken in the gathering last year. We Chinese sure seem superstitious about everything that brings good luck or prosperity that is entrenched in our traditions.

A good omen in our home, a couple of young nestlings

Pictured on the left is a nest with a couple of nestlings found in the small tree of our indoor garden. Birds had previously built their nests on the tree but no eggs were hatched out of them. This Chinese New Year season, we were pleased to find a couple of young nestlings in a nest to usher in the year of the Rooster. Could this be an auspicious sign for our family?

For all of you celebrating the Chinese New Year, we hope you will find auspicious moments in your celebration. We do wish you a Prosperous and Happy New Year with lots of good health too as health is wealth isn't it?

 

From Sun Fu, Geok Lee and The Gang

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