Today is the seventh day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, which is commonly known as the 人日. Chinese New Year has always been a time of traditions and new beginnings, and as I grow older and in knowledge, this period of celebrating a new year has been a time of reminders and appreciation of how our Chinese traditions have survived the times and how the values and traditions taught has been upheld and appreciated through the times.
For example, the idea of "in comes the new, out goes the old" comes to mind when we begin to prepare ourselves for the lunar new year. This spring cleaning is a timely reminder not just to tidy and discard old, unused items lying around in the house, but it spells a good discipline for the many of us who hog items in our possessions, whether by choice or ignorance, to discard them for good. Or, to the many of us who often find ourselves giving excuses for failing to tidy our spaces and clear the layer of dust accumulated through the weeks and months.
On the eve of the lunar new year, we have the custom of having the reunion dinner with every family member of the household together. Some have even extended this to strangers or to extended family members, and none is lost but all is gained when more gathered around the dining table for a sumptuous meal together. In today's world, times such as this is rare and more intentional efforts are needed to make this happen where we are conveniently placed in our own time and space.
Chinese new year is never the same without the giving of ang pows, or red packets. Some, like my family, practise the giving of ang pows on the eve of the Chinese new year after the reunion dinner. More than often, the child gives the elder an ang pow with a word of blessings. At times like this, I am reminded of how essential it is to speak words of blessings to each other than curses, complaints or disgruntles. After all, we are often daily plagued with cries of distress and help, and comforting words like such couldn't come any more assuring to tide us through the trying moments.
The spirit of giving ang pows encourages generosity as well. Our world today centres much on ourselves, our needs and our convenience, and it helps us much today to learn to give and to give cheerfully. A wise man once said that we won't know how much money holds us until we learn to give money away willingly. Learning to give ang pows also teaches us well to manage our finances well and to plan for rainy days the same way we plan and set aside a sum of money for ang pows.
One common theme during the Chinese new year is centred around the idea of respect to our elders. I find this a good gentle reminder, especially when we've come to realize that respect is not only deservedly earned but also given freely, regardless of what the particular elder has done or committed in the past. Our respect to them is thus based on the basic respect of giving honour to the person and not on the character, integrity or merits of the person.
One other encouraging theme during this festive season which I had gleaned upon is also the opportunity that it gives to family times. As a young boy, I often was left alone except for house visiting and the like. But as I watched the news and observed what other families did during this season, many has chosen to spend family times together, more than house visitations alone--strolling down Chinatown streets, watching a movie, or even watching TV together, etc. Moments like these are precious, and it adds to the mood of this festive season.
A multi-racial Singapore and ever growing multi-national society has been rapidly changing through the years. When we were younger, far fewer shops were opened saved for those ran by our Muslim and Hindu friends. Nowadays, almost all fast food chain outlets were opened during the Chinese new year period. Yet, the challenge remains for us to keep our traditions alive and uphold values that will set for us a good foundation for an ever changing society.
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