To all Chinese New Year celebrants, Gong Xi Fa Cai! Wishing you good health, wealth and happiness.
Today is a special day for Chinese throughout the world; it is the eve of the Lunar New Year 2019.
In many Chinese homes today, there will be either a big reunion lunch or dinner. Yes, the reunion meal is not necessarily a dinner. It can be lunch as well to suit everyone’s schedule in today’s modern world.
Some Chinese families may also opt to eat their grand reunion lunch or dinner in restaurants and hotels, saving their womenfolk the hussle of labouring for hours over the stove, cooking the family’s favourite dishes and some symbolically lucky dishes, and having to clean up after the big meal later on.
For the Chinese, the grand reunion lunch or dinner is believed to be the most important meal of the year. It’s a happy time for the celebrants who will be surrounded by loving family members, who may have come from the ends of the earth.
Among the must-have auspicious dishes at the Chinese reunion lunch or dinner are the Yee Sang (Prosperity Toss Salad), steamed fish and noodles.
Yee Yang is a sweet, tangy salad that symbolises abundance and vigour. Among its many ingredients are raw fish, daikon, carrots, toasted sesame seeds, plum sauce and sesame oil.
In Mandarin, “fish” is pronounced as “yu” which is similar to the Mandarin word “surplus”. So eating fish symbolises a surplus of wealth and resources.
Noodles symbolise longevity and braised noodles are an important part of the family meal.
Conservative Chinese will try to incorporate many auspicious food in their reunion lunch or dinner including black mushroom, sea moss, bok choy, pineapple, shrimp, oysters, red dates and meatballs.
Many conservative Chinese shops will close at noon today and will not reopen until the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.
If you live in a neighbourhood where such shops abound, it is wise to stock up on your necessities.
Many years ago, I ran out of gas as I was cooking my family’s reunion dinner. Because the shop where I usually placed my order had already closed for the Chinese New Year, I had to drive to another shop seven miles away to buy my gas.
I never forget that incident and last Saturday, I made sure I did not run out of gas again while cooking today’s reunion dinner.
I was about to have lunch at the neighbourhood food court when I saw a lorry belonging to my usual gas shop. I stopped the driver and immediately asked him to send a fresh gas cyclinder to my home.
While the neighbourhood supermarket will be closed for a week starting today, I am glad to be told that the Giant hypermarket at Tabuan Jaya, which is quite near my house, will remain open during the festival. At least, there is a place I can run to in case I need something during the long holiday.
Today, I will be having a relatively quiet reunion dinner – with my mother, my son and my daughter-in-law. I am currently suffering from the empty nest syndrome because my nieces have returned to their parents after completing their studies in Kuching, my nephews now have their own families and home while some of my family members including two younger brothers have gone from the face of this earth forever.
If you have been living with a big noisy family for decades like me, you will miss them on special occasions like the Chinese New Year.
Tomorrow, Chinese all over the world welcome the first day of the Year of the Pig, notably the Brown Pig. The Pig is the twelfth of all zodiac animals.
According to a myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which the animals arrived for his party. The Pig was late because he overslept.
Another tale says that a wolf destroyed his house and he had to rebuild it before attending the party. When the Pig arrived, he was the last one and could only take the last and twelfth place.
In Chinese culture, pigs are the symbol of weatlh. Their chubby faces and big ears are signs of good fortune as well.
In Malaysia, the Chinese New Year, like all other festivals, is highlighted by the “open house” concept which enhances the spirit of national unity in the country.
The Chinese will have open houses to welcome visitors of various races and religious backgrounds.
The Chinese New Year technically is celebrated for 15 days until Chap Goh Mei when it will culminate in another big feast.
It is an enjoyable time for children who get to receive “angpows” (red envelopes with cash). If you are still at the receiving end, congratulations! Some youngsters make it a point to visit as many houses as they can – just to collect the “angpows”.
As for the rest of us, the Chinese New Year is a good time to relax and spend quality time with our family.
Personally, I look forward to catching up on my beauty sleep and gorging myself on my favourite Chinese New Year snacks.
I hope the Year of the Pig will bring me and all of you, my friends, good health, good luck and prosperity.
