Guess what day today is? Chinese New Year!
What did we do about it? Absolutely nothing!
We didn't leave the light on for the God of Prosperity. We didn't wake up and immediately wish each other 'Gong Xi Fa Cai', which is a greeting that wishes the other person a prosperous year ahead. I didn't give Aaron his red packet until bedtime and didn't even give one to Adrian (I'll just bank in the money). We had Domino's pizza for dinner! What we did remember not to do was to NOT sweep the floors. At least we didn't sweep away whatever good luck we may have had there. And also, by chance, I wore a red shirt today, the traditional CNY colour.
I ought to be ashamed of myself but I'm not really beating myself up yet. There is still time for me to inculcate some Chinese culture into my boys. After all, its the first year that Aaron and Adrian have not had any Chinese New Year celebrations. We've made it a big deal in all the previous years. Maybe next year we can aim to be back in Malaysia and make a HUGE deal out of it by inviting the Lion Dance to our house. I used to love that as a child.
In the mean time, there are plenty of other ways to teach Aaron and Adrian about Chinese culture. I need to motivate myself otherwise I'm going to end up with imitation Chinese boys. Doesn't seem a little strange that I need to motivate myself to do this? Maybe its because we grew up with the culture around us and learned about it through osmosis rather than my parents consciously teaching us about Chinese ways. I don't even know where to start with the 'Chinese ways'. What exactly do I want to impart? Surely not all the obsession with prosperity (LOL!).
I think I'll need to think about what 'Chinese ways' actually means. In the mean time, there are still 14 days left to the Chinese New Year celebrations.
GONG XI FA CAI everybody!
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
The Modern Baba
In August last year, I blogged about the Peranakan culture. I might (or might not) have mentioned that the reason that the culture has all but fizzled out is because it is so chauvinistic and had Nyonya women doing all the work. Their cooking and needlework skills was what they were judged on when being considered as a potential wife.
Anyway, a large part of a Nyonya's life would have been spent in the kitchen, pounding up spices. Its not as simple as it looks. You've got to have rhythm and just the right amount of strength to get the job done without splattering it everywhere.
Seeing that I have no daughters, I'm exploring this part of my heritage with my sons. So, here is my little Baba, pounding up some onions. They didn't need to reach a paste like texture so it was a fairly easy task for him.
My brother is always saying that I'm making my sons do girly things but I don't. They offer to come help me with this stuff and I'm going to make full use of all this helpfulness while it lasts.
Anyway, a large part of a Nyonya's life would have been spent in the kitchen, pounding up spices. Its not as simple as it looks. You've got to have rhythm and just the right amount of strength to get the job done without splattering it everywhere.
Seeing that I have no daughters, I'm exploring this part of my heritage with my sons. So, here is my little Baba, pounding up some onions. They didn't need to reach a paste like texture so it was a fairly easy task for him.
My brother is always saying that I'm making my sons do girly things but I don't. They offer to come help me with this stuff and I'm going to make full use of all this helpfulness while it lasts.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Let me get the bill
Along the lines of yesterday's post on food, today's post is about what happens when the bill comes. Here in Malaysia, and many other Asian countries, there are often mini hand battles involved in fighting for the bill. Why?
Because:
1) Friends that haven't met each other for a long time often feel they need to give each other a treat. The problem arises when both parties feel the same way.
2) People who know that they earn more than the other party. For example working people vs student or people who have been working several years vs fresh graduates.
3) People who try to show that the HAVE lots of money. Whether or not they really do doesn't matter to them.
4) Finally, there are the genuine people who sincerely want to treat the other party to an enjoyable meal. I'm usually in this category. I love food and I like sharing it with others.
Sometimes, you think you have succeeded in paying the bill only to find out that the other party plays mahjong (or something) with the restaurant owner and all your money is returned to you so that he can pay.
The winners of these battles for the bills don't stay winners for long. The original 'loser' would then feel obligated to organise another meal so that they can repay the other party. Yes, if they had just agreed to go 50/50 in the first palce, all this would have been avoided but there would have been no 'face' in that. Sometimes these back and forth treats feel good but other times, they feel a little tedious and obligatory.
Because:
1) Friends that haven't met each other for a long time often feel they need to give each other a treat. The problem arises when both parties feel the same way.
2) People who know that they earn more than the other party. For example working people vs student or people who have been working several years vs fresh graduates.
3) People who try to show that the HAVE lots of money. Whether or not they really do doesn't matter to them.
4) Finally, there are the genuine people who sincerely want to treat the other party to an enjoyable meal. I'm usually in this category. I love food and I like sharing it with others.
Sometimes, you think you have succeeded in paying the bill only to find out that the other party plays mahjong (or something) with the restaurant owner and all your money is returned to you so that he can pay.
The winners of these battles for the bills don't stay winners for long. The original 'loser' would then feel obligated to organise another meal so that they can repay the other party. Yes, if they had just agreed to go 50/50 in the first palce, all this would have been avoided but there would have been no 'face' in that. Sometimes these back and forth treats feel good but other times, they feel a little tedious and obligatory.
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