Happy New Year!

It is a tradition of a Chinese family to partake in a reunion dinner on the eve of the Chinese New Year, where they share a meal of steamboat, a dish of seafood, meat, and vegetables poured into a boiling soup of chicken or tom yam. A single pot on a micro-stove is placed at the center of the dining table, then randomly, ingredients are put in for everyone to feast on. I was told today that eating from one container, in this case a pot, symbolizes unity and oneness of the family. It is a good way to start the New Year if you ask me. Despite having no Chinese blood and family living overseas, I have been celebrating the eve with a very hospitable, adoptive family, who never hesitated to share their time and sumptuous dinner with me for two consecutive years now.

Apart from the traditional steam boat, there are other dishes of extravagant nature that are popular during this festive season. My friend's family, to make this year of the snake extra special, prepared Pen Cai, or Poon Choi in Cantonese, which translates to Big Bowl Feast. True to its name, this highly interesting and expensive meal consists of eight-layers of ingredients like scallops and abalone, each level cooked separately and exquisitely laid on top of the other. Due to its exorbitant stature, my peasant of a palate is virgin to the abalone's delicate tang. To finally put it into my mouth and chew its rubber-like but brittle texture, for my tongue to register its salty meat taste, my gustatory system sure is one satisfied sense tonight.

Guess how much is inside! :p

And there was the traditional Hong Paos, or Red Packets, normally handed by married people to the unmarried, typically children. Even numbered amounts are popular as they signify auspiciousness, with an exception of the number four as it means death in Chinese. Odd numbers reflect otherwise. The figure inside indicates the closeness of the giver to the receiver; the higher it is, the tighter their bond is.

Despite me being the proverbial water against the thicker blood, the Hong Pao I received was more than my merit. I did not really expect it. I came for the company and the food (yum yum!), not for any figure inside a red envelope. We started the dinner with the Singaporean tradition of Lo Hei, an appetizer where standing participants, gripping chopsticks, verbalized wishes for luck and happiness and tossed the ingredients into mid-air. It is believed that the higher the chopsticks while mixing the contents, the higher the possibility of hopes and dreams to materialize. This act lasts for around five minutes. It is consumed afterwards.

Our rich, strong, and unique traditions, however diverse they may be, have a common denominator: they are preserved as an identity of a nation. They are built on a foundation of a stronger bond among loved ones, meant to deliver happiness. Amidst the hustle and bustle of our modern society, our traditions remind us of who we are within, leading us to who we might become. I am proud to be part of this Chinese tradition. It has been going on for thousands of years, an institution in today's perspective. May this new year bring us hope and happiness, health and prosperity. Yam seng! Xin Nian Kuai Le!