In a flash of a flash, CNY 2011 is over. Unfortunately for me, this year, seemed a lot shorter than usual because my trip home to KL was short. Nevertheless, I am thankful for yet another awesome CNY celebration with my family back in the kampung. And it was also rather fabulous for me this year in Cambodia too - celebrating with the kids at the orphanage.
CNY is a big thing for my family - seeing as we don't celebrate Christmas - at all. It always start off with the escalating spring cleaning and the buying of new attire - top, bottom, inside, outside, right down to slippers and shoes. Over the years, I had learnt to 'stock up' on new clothings - something MOH finds extremely bizarre. He would buy a new top for me and I'd say "Great! I'll keep this for CNY." I think I might have successfully stocked up on new clothes for the next twenty CNYs! Each year, there is always only new clothes needed for the 1st Day and the 2nd Day. Ok. Ok. I'll admit - I am a hoarder! There's also this thing in my family with new slippers every year and new towels too! Needless to say - I have a collection of these too!
When I was going through my teenage rebellion streak - I always smirked ridiculously at this superstitious ritual. In fact, I ridiculed all the superstitions in the house (no sweeping, no reading books, no washing hair, no uttering the word "die", no cursing, no sewing, etc.. etc..). I claimed myself to be the "modernized and westernized Gen X" and hell, I'll wear black on the 1st day of CNY if I want to! The year I was in Australia, the ONE and ONLY year I celebrated CNY far away from family, I cried and cried. Finally, I understood what it all meant. It meant me, being Chinese. It meant me, having a family. It meant me, understanding my own roots, tradition and culture.
CNY is the one time the entire clan get-together in the family home (an old, battered kampung house) and we all reunite to catch up and poke fun at one another. We set aside our differences and live with each other harmoniously for a few days. There'll be a lot of laughing and joking and of course, wit and sarcasm as well which are all taken well. I wouldn't vouch for the harmony to last beyond 2 weeks though! You know how every family has their own dramas :P
I think it being a Chinese village and all, the CNY atmosphere and ambience seem to be oozing in the air. Every household is busy and buzzing with families coming home too. Cars with outstation plates would be parked on any empty space available. And of course, when 12.00 midnight strikes, the entire village sounds like a battle zone - giant fireworks and firecrackers!!! You see - you don't get this much in KL, let alone in tiny uni-town, Bathurst, Australia!! THIS is what CNY should be like - not the shopping malls and the sales - but really, the ching-chong-ching-chong CNY music, the loud lion dance drumming, the smuggled and illegal firecrackers that are 3-storeys tall, the shameless receiving of ang pows (of course, I no longer pocket that much, but I still do!! And I'll shamelessley receive it in glee) and of course - who can forget the FOOD?
The other thing about why I love going back to my kampung is the fact that Tanjung Tualang is also endearingly known as the Pekan Udang Galah - and I am a big fat lover of these freshwater prawns (in fact, all seafood, except fish!!). Because I have my Uncles all twirled around my fingertips (yes, despite being married and all, I'm still the favourite :P), I'd always place an order of the prawns because if you don't place orders at the market, you might not get any since everyone wants some of those prawns! I make my orders - to make sure we have them for the reunion dinner and for the Hoi Nien lunch and dinner. I'd place an order with my Sam Suk. And then, as a back-up, I'd place an order with my Yee Suk too! Yee Suk would usually bring these fabulous seafood back from Sabah and one box of prawns would have my name written on it. YET, I crave for the Tanjung Tualang prawns, and as such - I make my demands! :) And I do get them! Every year, they would still fall for the same trick - I would order with Sam Suk, and with Yee Suk, and they'd both come back with the prawns and be surprised that they BOTH bought them - which means, I have extra. Hahahahaha! But yet, they still do it for me every year. What gives? Me :)
Of course, not to mention Ah Por cooks up a storm too. Well, back in the day at least when she was less fragile, back in the day where cholesterol wasn't a problem with anyone, back in the day where people weren't watching their diets. These days, we have some who doesn't want to eat too much meat, some who doesn't eat white rice, some who cannot take too much high-cholesterol food, etc. The dishes for CNY now are much simpler and healthier. But always - the Steamed White Chicken - which is another must on the table (besides my Steamed Prawns). The chicken is to cater to my Dad :) Back in the day too, my brother and I would get the drumstick - one each. But it's not so much fun "booking" your drumstick as adults. "I put my saliva on this one. This is mine!" You know, that sort of thing :P
And then, sure as hell as the big feasting for main meals, there are also a myriad of CNY goodies and snacks spread out in the living room area for munching. Ohhhh..... these are my favourites. Sometimes, I'd just have my prawns for dinner and save room for all these junk food! The arrowroot chips, pistachios, crabstick chips, cookies - like a dozen different types, dried meat - and occassionally, if I do ask my Ah Por, she would steam Nin Gao for me as well - eaten with coconut shavings. Ooh La La! Yummy, yummy. Diets and all, promptly forgotten at the sight of these little containers with the red covers :)
Ultimately for me, it is spending time with my Ah Por (back in the day too, also spending time with my Ah Kung). I am very close to her since young and would help her do all the prayers in the house, from the CNY eve prayers right to the Hoi Nien prayers. She is a very staunch Taoist. I'm not sure my faith is as strong as hers, but I think these are all just a part of our Chinese culture and if you do really look it up in history, you'd learn about it. I'll get to it someday, I guess. Anyway, yes, so for me - it is about spending time with Ah Por and catching up with her and eating her cooking and getting some "manja-me" time from her. Each year, I can tell she is getting more and more frail. I pray she lives a long, long, long and prosperous life.
Selfishly, it is because I do not wish anything to change for my CNY celebrations. I wish that every year, it would be the same - family reunion with great food in the tiny, kampung house (which I plan to renovate one day to make it... more comfy) and listening to stories from Ah Por and all my aunties and uncles. I know that deep down, the rest of my family does not feel the same way as me with the traveling back to the kampung. It is currently, a yearly ritual for all to ensure Ah Por is happy. In a way, I am thankful that they know how to think of it that way. I am happy that Ah Por is happy to see everyone back home for the CNY. She is as Chinese as Chinese New Year itself.
I am also thankful that MOH lets me come back home to my side of the family for the CNY celebrations. I can tell you that I wouldn't have it any other way (and yes, this was negotiated before I agreed to get married!). Well, he told me CNY wasn't celebrated in a big way with his side of the family, so we're ok. In fact, one year before we got married, my Mother-In-Law came to celebrate CNY with my family - without my Father-In-Law. The one year my Mom did not come home for CNY with us, the entire village thought my parents had divorced!
Well, the feasting has ended (at least the gluttony part of it), the trips have been made, but my family remains in my heart - always.
Here's counting down to January 23rd, 2012 - to yet another year of abundance in wealth, prosperity and joy. Happy CNY in advance to all!
 |
| Can you see my Prawns??? :) |
CNY is a big thing for my family - seeing as we don't celebrate Christmas - at all. It always start off with the escalating spring cleaning and the buying of new attire - top, bottom, inside, outside, right down to slippers and shoes. Over the years, I had learnt to 'stock up' on new clothings - something MOH finds extremely bizarre. He would buy a new top for me and I'd say "Great! I'll keep this for CNY." I think I might have successfully stocked up on new clothes for the next twenty CNYs! Each year, there is always only new clothes needed for the 1st Day and the 2nd Day. Ok. Ok. I'll admit - I am a hoarder! There's also this thing in my family with new slippers every year and new towels too! Needless to say - I have a collection of these too!
When I was going through my teenage rebellion streak - I always smirked ridiculously at this superstitious ritual. In fact, I ridiculed all the superstitions in the house (no sweeping, no reading books, no washing hair, no uttering the word "die", no cursing, no sewing, etc.. etc..). I claimed myself to be the "modernized and westernized Gen X" and hell, I'll wear black on the 1st day of CNY if I want to! The year I was in Australia, the ONE and ONLY year I celebrated CNY far away from family, I cried and cried. Finally, I understood what it all meant. It meant me, being Chinese. It meant me, having a family. It meant me, understanding my own roots, tradition and culture.
CNY is the one time the entire clan get-together in the family home (an old, battered kampung house) and we all reunite to catch up and poke fun at one another. We set aside our differences and live with each other harmoniously for a few days. There'll be a lot of laughing and joking and of course, wit and sarcasm as well which are all taken well. I wouldn't vouch for the harmony to last beyond 2 weeks though! You know how every family has their own dramas :P
I think it being a Chinese village and all, the CNY atmosphere and ambience seem to be oozing in the air. Every household is busy and buzzing with families coming home too. Cars with outstation plates would be parked on any empty space available. And of course, when 12.00 midnight strikes, the entire village sounds like a battle zone - giant fireworks and firecrackers!!! You see - you don't get this much in KL, let alone in tiny uni-town, Bathurst, Australia!! THIS is what CNY should be like - not the shopping malls and the sales - but really, the ching-chong-ching-chong CNY music, the loud lion dance drumming, the smuggled and illegal firecrackers that are 3-storeys tall, the shameless receiving of ang pows (of course, I no longer pocket that much, but I still do!! And I'll shamelessley receive it in glee) and of course - who can forget the FOOD?
The other thing about why I love going back to my kampung is the fact that Tanjung Tualang is also endearingly known as the Pekan Udang Galah - and I am a big fat lover of these freshwater prawns (in fact, all seafood, except fish!!). Because I have my Uncles all twirled around my fingertips (yes, despite being married and all, I'm still the favourite :P), I'd always place an order of the prawns because if you don't place orders at the market, you might not get any since everyone wants some of those prawns! I make my orders - to make sure we have them for the reunion dinner and for the Hoi Nien lunch and dinner. I'd place an order with my Sam Suk. And then, as a back-up, I'd place an order with my Yee Suk too! Yee Suk would usually bring these fabulous seafood back from Sabah and one box of prawns would have my name written on it. YET, I crave for the Tanjung Tualang prawns, and as such - I make my demands! :) And I do get them! Every year, they would still fall for the same trick - I would order with Sam Suk, and with Yee Suk, and they'd both come back with the prawns and be surprised that they BOTH bought them - which means, I have extra. Hahahahaha! But yet, they still do it for me every year. What gives? Me :)
Of course, not to mention Ah Por cooks up a storm too. Well, back in the day at least when she was less fragile, back in the day where cholesterol wasn't a problem with anyone, back in the day where people weren't watching their diets. These days, we have some who doesn't want to eat too much meat, some who doesn't eat white rice, some who cannot take too much high-cholesterol food, etc. The dishes for CNY now are much simpler and healthier. But always - the Steamed White Chicken - which is another must on the table (besides my Steamed Prawns). The chicken is to cater to my Dad :) Back in the day too, my brother and I would get the drumstick - one each. But it's not so much fun "booking" your drumstick as adults. "I put my saliva on this one. This is mine!" You know, that sort of thing :P
And then, sure as hell as the big feasting for main meals, there are also a myriad of CNY goodies and snacks spread out in the living room area for munching. Ohhhh..... these are my favourites. Sometimes, I'd just have my prawns for dinner and save room for all these junk food! The arrowroot chips, pistachios, crabstick chips, cookies - like a dozen different types, dried meat - and occassionally, if I do ask my Ah Por, she would steam Nin Gao for me as well - eaten with coconut shavings. Ooh La La! Yummy, yummy. Diets and all, promptly forgotten at the sight of these little containers with the red covers :)
Ultimately for me, it is spending time with my Ah Por (back in the day too, also spending time with my Ah Kung). I am very close to her since young and would help her do all the prayers in the house, from the CNY eve prayers right to the Hoi Nien prayers. She is a very staunch Taoist. I'm not sure my faith is as strong as hers, but I think these are all just a part of our Chinese culture and if you do really look it up in history, you'd learn about it. I'll get to it someday, I guess. Anyway, yes, so for me - it is about spending time with Ah Por and catching up with her and eating her cooking and getting some "manja-me" time from her. Each year, I can tell she is getting more and more frail. I pray she lives a long, long, long and prosperous life.
Selfishly, it is because I do not wish anything to change for my CNY celebrations. I wish that every year, it would be the same - family reunion with great food in the tiny, kampung house (which I plan to renovate one day to make it... more comfy) and listening to stories from Ah Por and all my aunties and uncles. I know that deep down, the rest of my family does not feel the same way as me with the traveling back to the kampung. It is currently, a yearly ritual for all to ensure Ah Por is happy. In a way, I am thankful that they know how to think of it that way. I am happy that Ah Por is happy to see everyone back home for the CNY. She is as Chinese as Chinese New Year itself.
I am also thankful that MOH lets me come back home to my side of the family for the CNY celebrations. I can tell you that I wouldn't have it any other way (and yes, this was negotiated before I agreed to get married!). Well, he told me CNY wasn't celebrated in a big way with his side of the family, so we're ok. In fact, one year before we got married, my Mother-In-Law came to celebrate CNY with my family - without my Father-In-Law. The one year my Mom did not come home for CNY with us, the entire village thought my parents had divorced!
Well, the feasting has ended (at least the gluttony part of it), the trips have been made, but my family remains in my heart - always.
Here's counting down to January 23rd, 2012 - to yet another year of abundance in wealth, prosperity and joy. Happy CNY in advance to all!
No comments:
Post a Comment