Hmm, the eve of Chinese New Year.. Eagerly awaited by some, terribly dreaded by others.. (Usually dreaded by those who'r already married but without kids yet.. ) Hehe, i used to be one of those who really hated Chinese New Year. Amazingly, not even the thought of receiving money could cheer me up! Reason why?

My mortal fear of lion dances.

      Yeah, go ahead and laugh.. But i assure you, it was no laughing matter back then, 'cause whenever Chinese New Year drew near, the slightest hint of drums ( even if it was actually a Chinese funeral passing by ), and i would flee (screaming pitifully) into whichever room, storeroom, (or er, toilet.. ) that's furthest away from the offending drums! Oh, how i lived in terror each time the end of January drew near.. ( Especially when i was forced to listen to the annual lion dance held outside SFX church in KL..!  ) Till today, i have no idea why i used to be so petrified of those damned drums.. ( Thankfully, i got over it bout 6 years ago ) 

         But enough of my.. interesting.. childhood.. What does Chinese New Year really mean to me anyway? Hmm, the tedious process of exchanging rotten oranges, dried seafood ( a.k.a dead and smelly shrimp, salted fish, etc.. ) That is, untill you cook it, then it becomes yummy and not so disgusting anymore!

         But WHY must we exchange 'angpows', oranges, expired chocolates, etc.. anyway? Based on what i've observed throughout the 17 years, ( okay, maybe just the last decade or so..) Chinese New Year is essentially just a season where:

--->  you're forced to do last-minute spring cleaning. ( by throwing everything under

        the bed and telling mom your room's clean )

--->  you bake dozens of cookies and watch them practically inhaled when

        guests ( who happily pop your painstakingly-made-cookies into their

        mouths!  ) arrive.

--->  you hurriedly wash your hair on the eve of Chinese New Year, and greet

       people with a forced smile the next day, wondering if your hair looks flat or oily.

      ( Since tradition says you can't wash your crowning glory on the 1st day of

        Chinese New Year )

       * Thank goodness its only the first day, imagine if we

         weren't allowed to wash our hair for the entire 14 days!! * Shudder..*

--->  you run around filling pretty red plastic bags with oranges, bottles of cookies,

         chocolates and fruits ( to be given to your guests ) , and receive an almost

       similar bag from your guests in return for your efforts.

         * I swear there was one year where i got really pissed at my mom for giving away a box of Ferraro Roche's ( which someone gave us in the first place ), only to discover the next day that another bunch of guests had visited later on and they gave us the exact box that i was sulking over! Talk bout the pointlessness of the merry-go-round of giving gifts huh?

         At this very moment, both of my aunts are screaming at my ( very, very deaf ) grandmother. ( poor thing.. ) It happens every year, so we're kinda used to it by now.. And the reason for this ( by ' this ' , i mean the screaming ) spectacular waste of energy, time and saliva? They're Buddhists you see, and they have some special rituals/prayers when it comes to Chinese New Year. Now, before my grandmother fell down, she used to get ready all the food, joss sticks, and stuff herself. Now that she can't walk by herself, she relies on my aunts and the maid to prepare them instead. Unfortunately, she keeps changing her mind bout how to prepare what, thus annoying those in the kitchen when they can't tell her why it can't be done, since she can't hear them..!

         Despite all my grumbling, i guess Chinese New Year isn't that bad after all.. True, i'll probably regain all the weight i lost the past few days ( imagine if i went from 47.5 kgs back to 52kgs.. Oh, the horror!  ) Hehe, despite all that, would i ever miss a good old traditional Chinese New Year celebration ( where eating, sleeping and receiving 'angpows' is the main agenda throughout all 14 days! ) with my family? *burpz* Hell, no!

*          The author of this blog doesn't strictly follow the old customs of the Chinese since her immediate family members are Chistians, while there is an uncertain mixture within the rest of her extended family. For example, she would like to stress that definitely washes her hair on Chinese New Year's Day! ( Otherwise, there would be a mass shortage of air-fresheners when guests come to visit. )

         With that, i end my post tonight, wishing all of you reading this a very HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! To those who wanne collect 'angpows' from my parents, i'm currently in KL now, so gimme a msg or email for the address.  Bye!