Xin Nian Kuai le

Xin Nian Kuai le (Happy Lunar New Year)!!

I have already come back to Hong Kong for good. I miss my London life a lot. My previous homes, the places I have been to, and all the friends I met in London in the past few years, are always in my mind.

My special tributes have to be sent to you. Thank you for giving me a lot of unforgettable experience. I do remember the time we chat with each other, and the moment we had, wherever in GC, in CSSD, in LICC, in CIAC, in Playback, in restaurants, in pubs, in churches, in the community centres, or any other places.

My dear friends, how are you?

29 January 2006 is the first day of the year of the dog. For Chinese people, we usually visit our relatives at their homes with presents and red pockets. We have New Year food like turnip pudding, taro pudding, sticky sweet year-pudding, and fried dumpling stuffed with sugar and peanut. We would say some greeting words like “Gong Xi Fa Chai” “Long Ma Jing Shen” “Wan Shi Ru Yi” to greet each other. People love dressing in red or other bright colours, which represents good luck and joy.

I have not celebrated the Chinese New Year for three years since I went to London. It was a wonderful time to see my relatives again. We updated our own recent news and showed our love and care to each other. My aunts and cousins were glad to see me, as we have not had such a sharing for a long time.

The tradition I found outdated and boring, is now turning to be a precious moment that I treasure a lot. I realise that the familial bonding is very important to the Chinese people, most modestly, is meaningful to me.

I have just written a New Year poem (hehehehe), which I would love to share with you:

Visits were made in the past few days,
many greeting words I had to say.
“Gong Xi Fa Chai” I said the most,
for greeting each other to earn at most.

Grandparents, uncles, and aunts
with many cousins running around,
gathered merrily in a small place
to eat, to drink and to play.

My aunt handed me a cup of tea,
for greeting me “Wan Shi Ru Yi”.
She gave me a pair of red pockets,
and wished me to earn a full basket.

Amongst all the relatives I found
the smallest infant who was playing around
She giggled and showed me her purple coat
Asked me whether it was beautiful

Her lovely face always makes me drown
Nothing I can say but only kiss sounds
When she shouted “aunt, aunt”,
Such satisfaction I have never found.

In the Chinese New Year we should stay
with the family members in home places
To love, to share, and to greet
each other for the prosperous days.