Welcome Year of the Rabbit

If you can recall, a tiger struggled from out of the river onto the river bank, exhausted, because he stayed up late the night before watching football. But he did put in a lot of effort to get to third. Next a rabbit came up. He hadn't actually swam because he hopped from log to log instead....

And so we come to the rabbit year.



Chinese New Year was more fun for me in the past. Back then, maybe before the turn of the century, the affair was grander. Since my mother's side of the family and my father's side were in two different cities in Malaysia, we would usually have two reunion dinners. And the two sides would be so kind as to arrange the reunion dinner so that my family would have time to make both.

So normally, the first reunion dinner would be with my mom's side in Johor Bahru, and almost all my immediate uncles and aunts and their families would gather at my aunt's house. As each family arrives, the unmarried people would respectfully offer a pair of oranges to the elders while wishing them "gong hei fatt choy". In return, the elders will give a red packet. My aunt's house in JB is huge. And for every Chinese New Year without fail back then, she'd make her famous Pepper Soup. I tell you, it will cure whatever cold or flu you have and leave your throat sore as a red thumb.

Back then it was fun for me because all the many people of my generation at an age suitable for all of us to have fun together. I remember playing a lot of computer games with my cousin but that was a normal activity even when not during a special occasion. When all the cousins got together, all I remember is a lot of noise and laughter and just talking rubbish.

The old folks were not left out of the fun. They were just as noisy if not more so (and they still are now). The best part of the festivities for me was always the card games. We had a game called "cow add water" where everyone is dealt 5 cards, and we have to have 3 cards that add up to a multiple of 10, then the last 2 cards will be your score. For example, a valid hand would be 5 3 2, 4 6. In this case the score would be 10, which is the highest score, but not the best hand. If the last 2 cards have the same value, that means you get double what you bet. To make it more interesting, 3 and 6 are interchangeable. Everyone is always playing against a single dealer, normally the head of the house but sometimes the guy with the biggest pot of coins (my uncle). Since a deck has 52 cards, the maximum number of players was 10, but everyone got to join in because we'd have non-players augmenting players' bets with their own money and investing capital in some players. Some people would even add bets to multiple players if they feel "the market is good" i.e. the dealer is on a losing streak.

Some years, we would have some firecrackers as well. I remember once, my cousin brought the type of fireworks that's made up of red cylinders hanging on a string. So we hung it up outside the house. Everyone gathered inside the house with the sliding glass door closed, looking at my cousin light the end of the string. After he lit it, he quickly opened the door, ran into the house, closed it, and everyone covered their ears. I remember it was loud, but in the end not that loud.

After the reunion dinner's day's activities, and maybe one more day of activities in JB (many people would sleep over at my aunt's, well not so much sleep over as mahjong over), my family would say our last "gong hei fatt choy"s and drive up to Kuala Lumpur for the next reunion dinner. I always felt terribly sad to be leaving all my cousins in JB.

The reunion dinner in KL always took place at Grandma's house. And Grandma always cooked. Grandma was a proper chef I tell you. I mean she not just cooked, she created. Her food was art. It was not visual art but rather flavour art. Anyway, reunion dinner in KL was similar to that in JB in that all the cousins would have a great time together and we also indulge in card games, but we usually played blackjack instead. The act of offering oranges to elders and receiving red packets was also not as formal as in JB. Normally the elders would just come and quietly pass you the red packets.

We always had firecrackers during Chinese New Year in KL. There was a little provision shop that my cousins used to go to get the firecrackers. They always got the rocket type which flew up and exploded in the air, and also one that spins round on the ground and creates a spiral spark show. Maybe those are the only two types that the shop sold. We had firecrackers every year that I can remember, but it always seemed like a last minute decision. One cousin will ask "eh, so, you wanna get firecrackers?" and another will reply "hmmm kyah, get from uncle jack's shop? ok ok" and he'd run off to get it. Half an hour later he'd be back with the two types of firecrackers.

After one or two days in KL, I actually would be glad to be going home. That's because Grandma's house always always made me get sick. That means, by the time we would be going home, I'd be having a cough and a fever. Then I'd be back in Singapore resting for the next few days to recover from the Grandma's House Flu. This is when I wish I had some of my aunt's famous Pepper Soup.

Now, Chinese New Year is not so grand anymore. We don't go up to KL so often anymore. We'd still have a kind of reunion dinner (or reunion lunch) at a restaurant or at my aunt's house in Singapore. Only my aunt's family and my family, an odd uncle or two without their families, and a special guest family which changes every year whom I've never met before as it's always a distant relative. We don't bother with the offering of oranges anymore. The most we'd do is wish "gong hei fatt choy" or even "happy new year" to get the red packets. And most recently, we no longer play "cow add water". Instead, we play Texas Hold 'Em Poker. No doubt the popularity of Texas Hold 'Em must have started from Casino Royale and multiplied by the Facebook Texas Hold 'Em game. Sometimes, I must agree with the elders' thinking that technology kills good clean fun.

Here is what we did for this year's celebration...



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The above is a screenshot from one of the greatest movies of all time - Teppanyaki. Recently, I went for a "reunion lunch" with my lab mates at a teppanyaki restaurant and it totally reminded me of this show. Funniest show ever. Teppanyaki. Starring Michael Hui and Sally Yeh. Old school I know.

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A new Winnie the Pooh movie is coming out. Here's the trailer. The beginning makes it feel like a thriller. Then the music comes on and it sounds more like a romantic dramedy.



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Interesting Points of Interest - Wishing happiness for people is more effective for them than wishing prosperity.