For all the chinese out there….we all know that Chinese New Year (CNY) is coming, pretty soon. This year, in 2010, year of Tiger, it’s gonna fall on 14 February 2010. What a fantastic day since it also falls on the Valentine’s Day. So I’m pretty sure all restaurants will be fully booked!
How’s everyone celebrating CNY? Since I was born and up till I moved overseas, I’ve always celebrated CNY at my hometown, at my parents’ home and with whole family.
As far as I remember, it hasn’t change much, we always have the same celebration years after years.
A night before CNY, we all called it the 30th night (according to chinese calender) and we would all gather together and have a festive dinner. Festive in a sense, mama will make delicious and scrumptious meals. Papa always like to invite all his close friends that he knows they don’t normally cook at home to celebrate this 30th night.
Mama will prepare some fish, fish-ball, abalone, sea cucumber, pork, shark fin soup, etc. So many meals that often we would have some left over for days after that.
Few years back, I remembered I went home for CNY celebration after many years not celebrating it at home. And I was pretty upset that papa has invited his friends to come over. Coz I’ve been picturing that all of us, the whole immediate family, will sit together at 1 big round table and eat, just us, no one else.
I remembered I sulked like small kid and complaint. Papa then said to me, that I always remember until now “Why don’t we invite others to enjoy what we can have? Why not share this celebration with other people? Not everyone has the same luck and opportunity to always celebrate 30th night at their own home, have wonderful meal and enjoy the gathering with their family. Papa feel pity on them. Papa like to share happiness with everyone, so as long as papa can still do that, papa will always invite them. So why don’t you enjoy it too? We should always share with others just like what Buddha has taught us”.
Gosh….I must say….after papa said that to me, I felt so embarrassed at myself. Here I was, a so called Master degree graduated woman who has lived in few countries before, who’s supposed to have some knowledge and life experiences, but I’m nothing compared to my papa.
Papa was born in small little island that took forever to reach there, he grew up poor without much love from his family and everyone else, took care of ducks, took tough and odd jobs since young, not even finish his Elementary education, flew to far distant island to make a living for his family. He has never live outside than Indonesia, never take any higher education, never travel alone, and yet he is so wise, so experience and extremely kind person.
I was so ashamed that me, as his the most beloved daughter, can’t make him proud at that moment.
Of coz, after that night, we all had the festive gathering and celebration at home, everyone was happy including me. For having ‘knock-down’ by papa, yet another, wisdom words 
So anyway, normally, on the 1st day of CNY, which is the CNY day itself (the chinese called it the 1st day), our family normally will wake up early. Congratulate parents, siblings, uncle, aunt, cousins and even our maid. Then we will start so busy calling everyone who lives at other places. Talk to each and everyone of them, wish them GONG xI FAT CHAI.
Some wishes can be long, some can be short. Of coz papa-mama can give a good and long wishes in Chinese, while me only said “gong xi fat chai” :p
We would then pray to yeye’s tablet (my grand dad) and other gods at home. Then we would take breakfast together. It’s usually some sweets, they said we start our year with something sweet so for the whole year our life will always be ’sweet’. The sweets can be some baked bread, desserts or even candies.
Then we would take pictures for the whole family, getting red pocket (angpao), and giving angpao. Then we would start our visiting journey.
We starts to go to the eldest in extended family hierarchy, then slowly descends to lower hierarchy. Then to parents’ friends’ houses….based on location.
The funny thing is, since my hometown is so small, all the chinese has always treated the friends like their own family. So they too will visit our houses and others. Often everyone will visit in groups. Big groups. After this person, then we’d say “hey, we’re going to your house next. So better prepare” then that person will rush back home, prepare the house, welcome all guests. Once finish, they will rejoin the group and visit other people’s house.
We, the children, will always play together in group and counts the angpao. If it’s not same amount, we will hunt down that person who hasn’t give us the angpao :p
Then almost in every houses they’d prepare some kind of their special meal/cook. And of coz at each house, there’s always some dried snacks, cookies, sweets, candies and soda.
For the past few years everytime I went home for CNY, I always had stomach ache coz of all the different foods that I ate.
Normally our visiting can only be done after 5 days. On 1st day, we often visited about 12 houses. 2nd day about 6 houses, then the rest is about 1-3 houses.
However, after many years, some of these people has grown richer. As their wallet is getting fatter, their ego, ignorance and stupidity also have grown bigger.
When they were poor, they were so kind to you and really so genuine. But now that they are rich, have their own businesses, they have changed.
All of sudden, they disrespect the elders, those who’s poorer than them, despise cheap stuff, only want things that’s expensive, and always act as if they are so bloody rich and some kind of aristocrat that people have to bow on them. Fool ignorant people!
Ever since then, they stop visiting people houses already and only visit some houses that they feel they need to maintain the relationship with for the sake of their business. I feel pity on such people, on them. Coz they have forgotten their base, their root, the original them.
You can really see what money can do to people. It’s truly sad. I just hope they’d realize before it’s too late.
Anyway, for this year, 2010, I pray and hope for the best for my husband and I, my parents, my brothers and their wives, my grandmas, uncles, aunties, cousins, nephews and nieces, my in laws, and everyone.
I hope by this year my husband and I can find our dream home that suits us and I hope we can fall pregnant this year. A healthy pregnancy, not another miscarriage like last time. I hope my husband’s business will success and flourish. I hope I too can bring in something to the family.
May this year bring happiness to everyone in this world and other world. May this happiness extend to all living being and non living being, exist or not exsit, form or not in form. May everyone live happy, free from suffering and animosity. May everyone always cultivate good karma and reap good karma.
May everyone always be protected by the Tri-Ratna.
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu
Tags: buddha, buddhist, celebration, chinese new year, dinner, festival, festive, gong xi, gong xi fat chai, gong xi fat choi, happy, tri-ratna, triratna