Happy Chinese New Year of the Golden Pig!
Happy Chinese New Year all! According to my friend, this is the year of the Golden Pig, which comes once every 60 years, and is supposed to be particularly prosperous (it is "gold" after all, in the typically pragmatic and materialistic chinese way).
I read the Chinese horoscope, and this is supposed to be an infinitely better year for me than last year, the year of the Dog.
Had a cosy reunion dinner with my two cousins, where we ate to bursting point - a six course meal for the three of us!
Apart from that, I had one of my weirder and least chinese CNYs ever - Italian on the first day of CNY (Zetter for brunch, Carluccio's for dinner), breaking of taboos (mention of death and dying and necrophilia!, clearing my room), watching the most bizarre French film ever (Ma mere), and this year we didn't make even the smallest pretence of settling debts before CNY like I used to in the past.
It's strange, celebrating this least chinese of Chinese New Years. But the truth is, my family has always been not very chinese as they go. My parents (mom especially) have never been particularly pantang (literally "taboo", meaning keep to taboos), neither has my extended family in Malaysia. We talk of death and dying and cuss out as happily as ever on the first day as on any other day (e.g. I feel so full, I might die).
Hmmm..I think the Singaporean community is generally a lot more pantang than the Malaysian community, or even the Chinese one actually.
In any case, Happy CNY, may we all have a fantabulous and prosperous year ahead! Gong xi fa cai, xin nian kuai le, wan shi ru yi, shen ti jian kang, nian nian you yu and all that jazz!
I read the Chinese horoscope, and this is supposed to be an infinitely better year for me than last year, the year of the Dog.
Had a cosy reunion dinner with my two cousins, where we ate to bursting point - a six course meal for the three of us!
Apart from that, I had one of my weirder and least chinese CNYs ever - Italian on the first day of CNY (Zetter for brunch, Carluccio's for dinner), breaking of taboos (mention of death and dying and necrophilia!, clearing my room), watching the most bizarre French film ever (Ma mere), and this year we didn't make even the smallest pretence of settling debts before CNY like I used to in the past.
It's strange, celebrating this least chinese of Chinese New Years. But the truth is, my family has always been not very chinese as they go. My parents (mom especially) have never been particularly pantang (literally "taboo", meaning keep to taboos), neither has my extended family in Malaysia. We talk of death and dying and cuss out as happily as ever on the first day as on any other day (e.g. I feel so full, I might die).
Hmmm..I think the Singaporean community is generally a lot more pantang than the Malaysian community, or even the Chinese one actually.
In any case, Happy CNY, may we all have a fantabulous and prosperous year ahead! Gong xi fa cai, xin nian kuai le, wan shi ru yi, shen ti jian kang, nian nian you yu and all that jazz!
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