lny traditions

there are many traditions we follow and this lny is no different.

i have continued most of these traditional practises although i do not really subscribe to the religious meanings underlying some of the traditions. nonetheless, i still find it very meaningful to practise them as it reminds me of my family, my roots and my culture. in short, my identity. and of cos, i do see many practical and logical reasons behind some of them. the following are some of my family's traditional practises that i continue to observe

• spring cleaning and hanging the ang chai (a red piece of cloth over my main door) after that on the 24th day of the last lunar month. the ang chai is to ward off any bad luck and welcome the good. why the 24th day of the last lunar month? well, far as i understand, it is the day the (taoist) gods leave the household to report to the heavens. they will only return on the 4th day of the new year. although i consider myself buddhist and have gradually reduced such taoist practises, i do still observe this date for practical reasons. after all, targeting one week before lny to complete the spring cleaning allows me to get other things prepared. also, red is a cheerful colour and brightens up the mood quite a bit.

• i still have reunion dinners. i think this is a good practise as it promotes family togetherness. recent years have seen my dad's passing and my mum moving out to my bro's place. and so reunion dinners have become a simple affair for myself and bee.

• i will leave the house lights switched on through the night on new year's eve. this is largely a hokkien community practise far as i understand. this is to ward of any evil spirits that might lurk around and we certainly do not want any such spirits to enter the house on new year's day.

• i still decorate my place with lny colours. some of the things that i have in the house include plants (flower cuttings, orchids etc), mandarin oranges, cookies (of which the must haves include pineapple tarts and love letters), as well as preserved fruits. many of these such as the preserved fruits used to be used as offerings to the taoist gods, but over time, it has become something used to serve any visitors to the house.

• i must have a nian gao (chinese new year cake made from sugar), and a bundle of 8 chinese leek (suan). other than serving the aesthetic aspects of these item on the table, the nian gao symbolises good luck and progress through the year. as for the chinese leek, i like the smell (some consider it pungent). but other than having the power to ward off dracula (heh, just pulling your leg), the suan also symbolises material well (the character suan for chinese leek sounds like another character `count' meaning `counting money').

• i do not sweep my house on the first day of lny. certainly do not want to end up sweeping away any good luck... need lots of it especially during these not too good times!

• we used to visit our elders on the first day of lny. when i was a little boy, i remembered the first place we must visit was to my maternal grandparent's place. we had to kneel down to offer oranges with both hands. we would also visit my god mum as well as all my maternal uncles and aunties. but over time, with the passing of these elders, this practise had (short of a better word) died. these days, the first person i'd visit on the first day of lny is my mum.

• after my grandparents passed away, i carried on the practice of kneeling for my mum as a form of deep respect for her. i still do so once a while and frankly, i find myself getting choked when i do this. somehow, i do not kneel to my dad. i guessed it's a habit that did not sink in for me to him.

• we would also make it a point to pay a visit to the temple on the first day of lny. this is to get the blessings from the gods for a smooth year ahead.

• all the visits above were to my maternal side relatives. for my paternal side, all my dad's siblings would visit us on the second day as my dad was the eldest (after my eldest uncle passed away) in 1984. so, on the second day of lny, we would host family gatherings for his siblings and their families. i took over the hosting on his behalf when he got older. now that he is not longer with us, this practise has stopped.

hmmm... ok, shall stop here. did not realize i actually do so many things... there are many more... but needless to day, all these practises center around the whole idea of respect and togetherness, and the gods and the (extended) family. to me, these are the most meangingful aspects of lunar new year.

heh heh...

:-)