The first two days of the Lunar New Year went without a hitch. The days were spent visiting relatives and studying. I am so pleased with myself that I have actually finished the readings for next week, even though my first lecture will start only this Thursday.
The topic is on Art History and Appreciation, so I have to know the various form, structure, composition and perspective of a piece of painting, as well as how to tell the difference between a piece painted by oils, acrylics, watercolour or tempera. Interesting, but I am no art connoisseur. Hopefully I will not botch up the assignment.
For the celebrations, it is more or less the same routine year after year for my family. On the first day, we would dress to the nines in our new clothes, then greet my grandmother, before proceeding to my uncle’s (my dad’s brother) place.
Normally we will stay there for an hour before going to my maternal grandmother’s place for lunch. From there, we will greet her as well as my uncle’s family. After lunch, we would go to my wealthy relative’s place.
We would be home in the afternoon provided my parents did not have anywhere else to go. Guests would start coming to see my grandmother and we had to be around to entertain them. In the evening, we would go to my aunt’s (my dad’s sister) place for dinner, then to my mother’s sister’s place after that.
On the second day, either we would go visiting friends or distant relatives, or else we would be home as there would be other relatives coming. Besides, my mum would normally host a big gathering that night for my uncles, aunts and cousins on my father’s side. Either we would cater, prepare a sumptuous feast or a steamboat meal. This year it was steamboat.
Chinese New Year celebrations are normally enjoyable, except that the older one gets, the more one has to put up with irritating remarks. Every year since I cannot-remember-when, my older relatives will keep telling me it is time for me to stop taking the red packets, so when will it be my turn to distribute? In other words, give them a break, get married and I can start distributing.
Then when it is finally your turn to distribute, people will start asking when you will start collecting back? In other words, have a kid and start collecting the red packets on behalf of the kid. It goes on and on all the time.
When I was in my late teens and early twenties and I was attached, everyone frowned upon it and said that I was too focused dating thus could not do well in my studies. Now when I am older and single, they are pushing me to find someone. The older generation are really so contradictory!
People always think I have an influx of cash after the New Year since I have so many relatives, some whom are very established. What they do not know and cannot believe is that I do not get to keep most of the red packets, since I still have to turn them over to my mum (yes, even at this age!). The only ones I get to keep are those my parents gave me, and those I got from my ex’s parents and relatives as well as my own visits to my colleague’s and friend’s places.
All others given by my own relatives have to be handed to my mum, and that is always so heart-breaking for me as it is my relatives who give me a much higher amount. If I had kept all the red packets every year through the years, my bank account would have reached five-figure probably ten years ago or so, and I would not be so cash-strapped in the past.
I will be going to my friend’s place later on in the afternoon for a post-wedding get-together. She will show us the wedding photos and video, and will cook dinner for us as well. Looking forward to it!
The topic is on Art History and Appreciation, so I have to know the various form, structure, composition and perspective of a piece of painting, as well as how to tell the difference between a piece painted by oils, acrylics, watercolour or tempera. Interesting, but I am no art connoisseur. Hopefully I will not botch up the assignment.
For the celebrations, it is more or less the same routine year after year for my family. On the first day, we would dress to the nines in our new clothes, then greet my grandmother, before proceeding to my uncle’s (my dad’s brother) place.
Normally we will stay there for an hour before going to my maternal grandmother’s place for lunch. From there, we will greet her as well as my uncle’s family. After lunch, we would go to my wealthy relative’s place.
We would be home in the afternoon provided my parents did not have anywhere else to go. Guests would start coming to see my grandmother and we had to be around to entertain them. In the evening, we would go to my aunt’s (my dad’s sister) place for dinner, then to my mother’s sister’s place after that.
On the second day, either we would go visiting friends or distant relatives, or else we would be home as there would be other relatives coming. Besides, my mum would normally host a big gathering that night for my uncles, aunts and cousins on my father’s side. Either we would cater, prepare a sumptuous feast or a steamboat meal. This year it was steamboat.
Chinese New Year celebrations are normally enjoyable, except that the older one gets, the more one has to put up with irritating remarks. Every year since I cannot-remember-when, my older relatives will keep telling me it is time for me to stop taking the red packets, so when will it be my turn to distribute? In other words, give them a break, get married and I can start distributing.
Then when it is finally your turn to distribute, people will start asking when you will start collecting back? In other words, have a kid and start collecting the red packets on behalf of the kid. It goes on and on all the time.
When I was in my late teens and early twenties and I was attached, everyone frowned upon it and said that I was too focused dating thus could not do well in my studies. Now when I am older and single, they are pushing me to find someone. The older generation are really so contradictory!
People always think I have an influx of cash after the New Year since I have so many relatives, some whom are very established. What they do not know and cannot believe is that I do not get to keep most of the red packets, since I still have to turn them over to my mum (yes, even at this age!). The only ones I get to keep are those my parents gave me, and those I got from my ex’s parents and relatives as well as my own visits to my colleague’s and friend’s places.
All others given by my own relatives have to be handed to my mum, and that is always so heart-breaking for me as it is my relatives who give me a much higher amount. If I had kept all the red packets every year through the years, my bank account would have reached five-figure probably ten years ago or so, and I would not be so cash-strapped in the past.
I will be going to my friend’s place later on in the afternoon for a post-wedding get-together. She will show us the wedding photos and video, and will cook dinner for us as well. Looking forward to it!
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