Chinese New Year

In a few days Chinese all over the world will celebrate the Chinese New Year and its special meaning and culture .As I look back the way the new year is celebrated then and now has quite drastically transformed. Before weeks before the new year day dawns, families are busy making the traditional cookies ,each with its special meaning.The flour has to be ground,the fires prepared (Only charcoal was used then)and all members of the family would gather together and help in preparing the cookies.This enhanced the family spirit and made the cookies taste better as everybody's effort went into making them.Today you buy them off the shelf and understandably not much of these are eaten with the same relish as before. The cakes and cookies had special meaning too. For example the " Nien Ko" was offered specially to the kitchen God so that the sticky stuff would make his mouth difficult to open so that he cannot make bad reports about the family.The "koay kapek" was originally used to pass messages and that is the reason why its folded that way.Of course everybody knows that Mandarin oranges are given to wish prosperity to the recipient ,just as ang pows are given to wish wealth.The orange and red colour used for these two items all relate to wealth and prosperity. Houses are cleaned and tidied so that by the eve of the new year all bad luck is swept away and the house cannot be swept on the first day of the new year as this would mean that good luck is swept away.Cutting your hair before new year is a must as the old hair which is cut means all the previous year's misfortunes are cut off and new clothes are worn on the first day with this same reason.on the first day children are not scolded or caned however naughty they are. Traditionally ang pows are given by the elders to the children and in return the children will serve them tea as a mark of respect.Everyone wakes up early,have their shower and put on their new clothes.Most people would spend the first day at home and the second day visiting relatives and family elders. On the eve of the new year there will be the reunion dinner which sad to say has lost much of its meaning today.In China in the early days family members are scattered throughout the country making a living and they all made their way home to gather with the rest of the family members.The lady of the house would prepare the special meal and all members of the family would sit down ,eat together and catch up on each other.the meal and what it is made up of is not important but the gathering is.Compare this with today's reunion.Restaurants are fully booked and if you are given a slot the time frame is laid down for you like say from 6 to 8 pm and you normally have to make your way to the particular restaurant.Question;Is the restaurant your home that you should return to for the reunion?And what sort of reunion is it when you have to eat in a crowded restaurant amidst all the and mayhem made by the other customers? Whatever good that will come in the new year is a blessing from the Gods and Chinese will not forget to pay due respects to whatever God they pray to.This reminds us that whatever we are ,whatever happens in the future is to a certain extent dependent on Heaven's blessings. The New year celebration lasts for 15 days and a lot of this time is spent on eating,catching up with friends and relatives and of course gambling (The Chinese are great gamblers. There is a lot of tradition and meaning in the Chinese New Year and we have to ensure that this is handed down to posterity so that our descendants can appreciate and understand the true maning and significance of Chinese New Year.