The spirit of the New Year

The Chinese celebrated the lunar New year from the 10th. Feb. till 24th ( the 15th day aka Chap Goh Meh ).The celebrations started with the Reunion Dinner which brought members of the family from near and far to the dinner table to savor the traditional New Year dishes>It was not so much of the eating but the reunion of family members who may have not been able to see each other during the year. This was the time when family members converged on the family house however simple it may be.This is the time when they lounge in any available corner of the house and talk about each other with memories of years gone by and updates.Looking round I can see major changes taking place which surely will erode the traditions which we hold dear to.For one thing younger people are having the reunion dinner at restaurants .I believe this will be the future trend and with this the meaning of the Reunion Dinner will be gone. We used to have so much fun making our own New Year cookies.Today you can just buy them anywhere and somehow the meaning of eating them is lost.I remember how we sat by the charcoal fire making the koay kapek , the grinding of the coconuts to get the milk for the cookies and the egg beating to get the eggs into shape for the cookies.It was the time of family togetherness when everyone will have his share of work allocated.It was " Tough" but we had fun and eating the cookies had more meaning. What is even more scary is the advent of gadgets .its not uncommon to see people in the midst of others totally absorbed in their gadgets in a world of their own. The family bantering and chit chatting is getting lost and I cant imagine what life would be lik ein the future.Imagine the scenario in a high tech family..the father with his gadget ,the mother with hers and the children with theirs.Social and family interaction ? Probably down the drain. New Year is the time when children have the most fun.New clothes, ang pows and lots of food makes the period special.On the first day of the New year parents have to control themselves as its forbidden to scold or beat your kids on this day.Smart children like us would make use of this opportunity to be really naughty knowing that we enjoy one day of immunity.Lots of fun here. Beyond a doubt New Year will continue to be celebrated but let us not forget the tradition of the celebration. This should never be lost and our future generation must know the meaning of the New year and how it has been celebrated.