Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year (CNY) has traditionally been a busy but exciting period to look forward to - especially if you are a kid.
Which kid doesnt enjoy feasting on tonnes of bak-kua, chocolates, sweets, cakes, soft drinks, etc.. the list is endless. And of course, who can forget about the ang pows (red packets)!
I remember, as a kid, I used to keep my ang pows under my pillow and will "sleep" on them over the entire 15 days period of CNY. My parents also reminded us (me and my brother) not to open these red packets until the 15 day period was up. So as a result, we would mostly be guessing how much our "takings" will be, and rubbing our hands in anticipation of the toy(s)/goodies we could buy with the windfall.
(my family is not in the habit of gambling during the CNY, so there's no chance we'd squander our ang pow money. Of course, neither could we double it! :P )
As an adult, CNY poses some new challenges. Just ask most folks who - in the opinion of their aunties/uncles - are at the age deemed suitable for marriage or starting a family (ie. having babies). Or worse, folks who are deemed (by the same cohort of people mentioned earlier) PAST the age deemed suitable for marriage or startiing a family (ie babies!).
The AGE at which this normally start occuring really depends on a lot of factors. But 1 of the key factor is obviously your GENDER. For guys, this can start happening when you hit your big 30. For gals...well. Let's just say, it can start as early as 25 or so. Ironically when gals hit the 30 milestone, they get let-off during CNY. For obvious reasons.
Typical conversations during CNY gatherings may go like this:
Elder (auntie/uncle. mostly aunties, i think): So how?
PF (poor fella): huh?
Elder: Got gal/boy friend oredi or not?
PF: err.. no lah.
Elder: How come???? Hey, you are not that young anymore leh
PF: ya lah... hahahah (forced laughter)
Elder: You should look at your brother/sister/cousin/so-n-so's son/daughter. So young oredi got 2 kids. So happy! Why you wait so long? Aiyah... dont make all of us wait so long mah.
PF: ......
Sounds familiar? hahaha..
Well, if it's any comfort, even married couples don't get let off easy. The EXACT same conversation can still take place. Just replace the "gal/boy friend" with "baby" and the amazingly, the whole things still works!
This year, Ping and I have our "insurance"! hahah. In fact, we intend to enjoy all the new year foodie, while the elders fawn over the little one!
Cheers!
Which kid doesnt enjoy feasting on tonnes of bak-kua, chocolates, sweets, cakes, soft drinks, etc.. the list is endless. And of course, who can forget about the ang pows (red packets)!
I remember, as a kid, I used to keep my ang pows under my pillow and will "sleep" on them over the entire 15 days period of CNY. My parents also reminded us (me and my brother) not to open these red packets until the 15 day period was up. So as a result, we would mostly be guessing how much our "takings" will be, and rubbing our hands in anticipation of the toy(s)/goodies we could buy with the windfall.
(my family is not in the habit of gambling during the CNY, so there's no chance we'd squander our ang pow money. Of course, neither could we double it! :P )
As an adult, CNY poses some new challenges. Just ask most folks who - in the opinion of their aunties/uncles - are at the age deemed suitable for marriage or starting a family (ie. having babies). Or worse, folks who are deemed (by the same cohort of people mentioned earlier) PAST the age deemed suitable for marriage or startiing a family (ie babies!).
The AGE at which this normally start occuring really depends on a lot of factors. But 1 of the key factor is obviously your GENDER. For guys, this can start happening when you hit your big 30. For gals...well. Let's just say, it can start as early as 25 or so. Ironically when gals hit the 30 milestone, they get let-off during CNY. For obvious reasons.
Typical conversations during CNY gatherings may go like this:
Elder (auntie/uncle. mostly aunties, i think): So how?
PF (poor fella): huh?
Elder: Got gal/boy friend oredi or not?
PF: err.. no lah.
Elder: How come???? Hey, you are not that young anymore leh
PF: ya lah... hahahah (forced laughter)
Elder: You should look at your brother/sister/cousin/so-n-so's son/daughter. So young oredi got 2 kids. So happy! Why you wait so long? Aiyah... dont make all of us wait so long mah.
PF: ......
Sounds familiar? hahaha..
Well, if it's any comfort, even married couples don't get let off easy. The EXACT same conversation can still take place. Just replace the "gal/boy friend" with "baby" and the amazingly, the whole things still works!
This year, Ping and I have our "insurance"! hahah. In fact, we intend to enjoy all the new year foodie, while the elders fawn over the little one!
Cheers!
posted by 北海道的大黑熊 at 10:31 PM
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