Yesterday, as I was passing by a recycling centre at Tabuan Laru in Kuching, I saw a group of people sitting or standing outside it. Some were busy sorting out used clothes and other things left at the centre by members of the public.
At this time of the year, it is usual for Chinese New Year celebrants to leave used clothes and other things they do not want at the centre. Some of the clothes and things left behind are still in good condition and can be recycled by those who wait patiently at the recycling centre.
The group of people waiting outside the centre usually grows bigger as the Chinese New Year looms nearer. One reason is that many Chinese New Year celebrants spring-clean their houses at the eleventh hour, probably because of their busy schedules or because they are working and have full-time jobs..
Every year, full-time housewives are among the first Chinese New Year celebrants to get their houses spic and span for the celebration. With much time on their hands, they can afford to start preparing for the Chinese New Year early.
Now, if you are a full-time housewife and your house is in a mess during the Chinese New Year, where would you hide your face?
Anyway, spring cleaning is a must for every Chinese home before the Chinese New Year.
I remember rushing back to Sibu for the festival when I was a Form Six student in Kuching. A day before the Chinese New Year’s eve, I was busy scrubbing the wooden floor of my family’s rented home in Sibu. I think I was the only person who ever scrubbed the floor and I did it only once a year!
In my family home, spring cleaning means cleaning the house from top to bottom in the belief that it would sweep any traces of bad luck. It includes brushing dust and cobwebs from the nooks and corners of the house, clearing the cupboards, getting rid of things we don’t want anymore, cleaning and washing the window panes and floor as well as giving the doors and walls a new coat of paint.
Spring cleaning is a major task which should involve every member of the family so that the work becomes lighter. When you are spring cleaning, do you throw what you should throw away or give away and what you should keep? That is a dilemma some of Chinese New Year celebrants face every year.
However, I know of close friends who clean out their closets every year and happily donate the clothes. They believe doing so will create the space for new things they want. If they don’t let go of the things they don’t want, there is no room for better things to come into their lives.
If the mere thought of cleaning your whole house scares you, how about hiring a spring cleaning service to do it? In this modern era, such services are easily available, especially in Kuching City and the bigger towns in the state.
This year, the Chinese will be welcoming the year of the Earth Pig on February 5, 2019. That means the big reunion dinner will take place on February 4, the eve of the Chinese New Year. The Pig symbolises diligence, compassion and generosity in China.
Besides spring cleaning their homes now, many Chinese New Year celebrants are also hunting for new table cloths and curtains.
Those who are houseproud will insist on making their own curtains. Some housewives I know recycle theirs every year; they buy table cloths and curtains for the Chinese New Year. After the celebration is over, they store them carefully and reuse them again next year.
However, fashions change every year. The tablecloth styles, curtain styles and even the utensils used to serve Chinese New Year delicacies and sweets change with time. So the dilemma some fashionable housewives may face is whether to follow the trend or not.
As for me, I don’t follow fashion or trends. I just buy the most appealing and reasonable tablecloth or curtains I come across. I use them during the Chinese New Year and throughout the year. The following year, I would shop for a new tablecloth and curtains again.
Two of my nieces who have left Kuching to work in other towns have advised me to start shopping for my Chinese New Year clothes now. I am quite traditional, so I will shop for something red to wear.
During the Chinese New Year, it is usual to wear something red which is believed to ward off evil spirits. I like red because it is a nice colour to wear and it is also my favourite colour.
All over the world, many Chinese will go home to their home towns for the traditional reunion dinners on Chinese New Year’s eve. In today’s modern world, many Chinese will travel to where their families are and have the tradiional reunion dinners with them there. Home, after all, is where the heart is. And your heart can be with your children or siblings whereever they may be.
My friends, have you done your spring cleaning for the Chinese New Year yet? If you have not done it or are in the midst of doing so, happy spring cleaning to you then!
