Year of Ox..MooOooOoo!

Since dad has left us, we dare enough to break away from tradition and had not been 'slaughtering' on CNY eve. No matter how we persuaded, dad would never agree to have Reunion Dinner out of the house...sigh. Well, I guess he had his own opinion and everytime when we sat at the table, we soon forgotten about the hassle of preparing the dinner...


This eve, Amy came back to join us for Reunion Dinner at Ming Room. As I always say, it is never about the dishes we have on the table…it's the family members whom are enjoying the dinner with... I am glad that our family is growing...next year, we will be having 5!Amen...

1st day as usual, we begun our visiting to my beloved 2nd aunty. Every year going to Ah Leong's house, it's like going back to my hometown...yea, it's just about 20km away...but the old neighbourhood brings back a lot of my childhood memories...looking across Ah Leong's house reminds me of my childhood friends...the family has 5 kids. Eldest is Ah Ling who is 6 years older than me...followed by Ah Fun, Ah Fah, Ah Kuen and youngest Ah Mun. Their father is a durian seller and I get free durian everytime he has left overs...These bunch of friends were like my siblings and I don't feel good if I don't see them for a single day. I was told they would also look for me whenever I was at home with my parents...They were also the ones who gave me a bewildered experience of kena rotan from Ah Leong...hahaha...I wonder where are this bunch now...hope they are well...

Then we headed to Ah Sok's place. This year, we get to meet up with my 2 cousin brothers who returned from Suzhou and HKG. Great to see them... Besides, Kok Hoe also announced that he too will be marrying in Oct...Congrats, bro!

Next 3rd Ah Leong. Unfortunately, she was not in and we were greeted by Ah Fun sis. Wow, her boy has turned into a fine young man...time flies...and last of Wong's family would be my 4th aunty. It was also a pleasant surprise to have Ah Mei and her hubby returned from Aussie.

As usual, everytime I get my ang pow...it will sure come with a comment ..."So, when can I stop giving you a?" or "You know, waiting for your cup of tea makes my neck longer"...sigh...cold sweat...to receive ang pow nowadays is no longer as 'excited' as it use to be...hahaha...My friend sms myself and asked how many ang pows I have collected...I replied, these ang pows collected has "blood and sweat" in them...hahaha

This year, wonderfully all my cousins from abroad have returned home...how superb to begin the year of Ox with our family all home plus good news to be shared...We shall be looking forward to March and October to celebrate the marriage of my brother and Kok Hoe!

Gong Hei! Gong Hei!

CNY

Time flies…those days when I was younger (not too long ago though :P) CNY was the best time of the year…1 month before this festival arrives, the young ones will be very excited because we get to have new clothes, new shoes, play firecrackers and most of all…the ang pows!!!

Those days my family and 7th uncle’s family stayed with my grandparents…so, when CNY was near my mom and 7th aunty would be busy cleaning and cooking while our dads were busy cleaning their cars and repairing any electrical items which were spoilt for some time…nobody would care until CNY and suddenly time seems too short for everyone. Well, what we the young ones do? Of course, we need to pretend helping our parents (let’s just say if we really did, they will have more to clean up…hahaha…) I remember, we looked forward to night…it’s firecracker time! We used to gather a few cans and fire them everywhere. Whoever managed to have the loudest blast would seem to be the winner!

On the 1st day, all the young ones would be dressed up like ‘super models’…even if our shoes were hurting our feet, we would never complain…as early as 8am, my Ye Ye’s house would turn into a busy ‘market’ as all the Wong’s would return home. Everyone had to queue to pour tea and wish Ye Ye and Ma Ma with the best wishes…then it would be from the eldest to the youngest…the whole house were filled with laughter and joy…all arguments and grudges which they had were forgotten on this day…the children were compared on their heights while some were busy showing of their new baju and ehem, jewellery…

Our family moved out eventually and these CNY routines only lasted for another year or so. Ma Ma was sent to an old folks home since she needed medical care 24 hrs…she left a couple of years thereafter and it was then Ye Ye’s turn to be sent to an old folks home…I never understand why but I never dare to ask…

Since then Ye Ye’s house had never been the same…CNY had changed…instead of gathering in a common place, we started to visit every of my dad’s siblings’ home. There were 4 of them…if each house we need about 2 hours, we would need 8 hours to complete…so, we have to start early. My dad would wake us up early because we have to eat before we start visiting…waking up early is already torturing – worst was asking me to eat rice that early…sigh…I hate eating rice when the sun is only starting to shine!

By the time we finished all 4 houses, my mom, bro and myself were practically ‘half-dead’ while my dad, half drunk. By night, dinner was simple comparing the night before when we had reunion dinner…and the dishes…well, there were the same – the only different is lesser portion…

Our 1st day doesn’t stop at dinner. We have to make our way to Ulu Kelang to visit my mom’s aunty. Usually we arrived at 930pm and everyone in Yee Poh’s house was already half ‘partying’ with mahjong and drinking…at that age, I was too young for mahjong and drinking…what we do? Well, either we sit by the side of the mahjong table and hand over drinks to the players or sit with dad and Yee Kong to hear them cursing at politicians in the country and in their office…both choices were great for me…else I won’t know how to play mahjong neither would I know that in any generation of mankind, politicians are mostly sucks – whether they are working for the country or those in our office!

2nd day, yet again my dad would wake us early to ‘hoi lin’…again is about having rice…sigh, who the heck created such culture!!! Later on that day, it’s my dad’s turn to receive his siblings and other relatives…although I was made into “Ah Sei” for the day…I was proud of my part time role as a ‘bar waitress’…hmmm, I guess the alcoholic gene is in me because I love to pour beer…and pour beer and pour beer and pour beer…seeing my relative and cousins in my home, I feel the special warmth where 364 days were missing…

Well, I am not sure about other family. Although it has been a routine for every CNY on whom we visit or who would be coming…and as the years gone by…some of my family members have ‘left’…we also have ‘additional’ members along the way - somehow the topic of conversation has never change…best is we never grow tired of the same questions neither are we annoyed in answering them…hahahaha

Now, my dad is no longer around to wake us early and we do not need to eat rice that early…again CNY has changed…

I guess as we grow, the feel and the way we celebrate CNY will somehow change…these days when CNY is near, we confess that we ‘lost’ the feel we used to have…I wonder whether this ‘feel’ will return when our life changes to another stage i.e. when we have children and that they are old enough to understand this festival…then would it be like when I was young and were in Ye Ye’s house…I wonder…

“Gong Hei Fatt Choy” “Chook Lei Lin Lin Yau Kam Yat, Sui Sui Yau Kam Chiu” “Chook Fook Lei Loong Ma Ching San, Po Po Kow Sing, Wang Choy Chow Sau” “Chook Lei Sam Seong Si Seng”