Wednesday, February 01, 2006
*~Happy Chinese New Year~*
So, how was CNY this year for everybody, in town or overseas?
I got to spend New Year with my family here in Malaysia, which is totally awesome. All the preparations get on my nerves though, what with rushing to over-crowded, often-rainy Chinatown to buy wax ducks (literally) and all. Mom assured me though, that all this frantic shopping is the best part of New Year. Well, my soaking wet jeans and I beg to differ...
Managing to convince my 2 school-crazy bros to skip 1 1/2 days of school (I mean, who on earth looks so unhappy when told "don't go to school, it doesn't matter"?) so that we can beat the traffic, we zipped from Singapore to Mantin (N.Sembilan) as fast as we dared.
Grandma's house was in need of decoration, so we tried everything we could to make it as...err...red as possible. (Pre-made decorations are a God-send!) After the initial rush, then comes...nothing. My brothers and I played chess. Hmm. Wow. How exciting.
As it gets closer to the big moment, the house starts to fill up with relatives of all shapes and sizes. Familiar people, total strangers, ex-familiar people who have changed so much they look like total strangers...Maybe next time I should arm myself with an extremely detailed family tree.
10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3......2......1!!!!!!!!!
Bang bang bang bang banggetty BOOM! - Resurrection of the firecrackers. It sounded all through the night even though the government passed a law BANNING those noisy bangers. It is reported that the police would rush to the area where they hear even the tiniest bang and arrest the culprit. Well, so far, no flashing blue and red lights have appeared. So much for efficient policework. (Not that I'm complaining - what's CNY without firecrackers?)
And who can fail to mention the food? We opted to have seafood this year, so seafood we had indeed. Fish, fishballs, fishballs stuffed with veggies, fish noodles, squid, sea cucumber, prawns, and I've missed out heaps more. Ah well, at least it's all less fattening than the roasted pig/chicken/duck etc. that we used to have.
The angpao factor is also the main reason why I love CNY, hehe. The traditional ritual of giving money inside red packets to children (and other not so young singles) is a pain for married adults but a great opportunity for young-uns to replenish their wallets.
And since red is supposedly auspicious, it is only fitting that this entry be RED!!!
Woof!
..signing off..
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