When I was a child, the adults were always telling me that Lunar New Year is only fun for kids.  They were right!  The festival has become something of an obligation for us.  A once-a-year obligation that my husband calls ”paying homage”.

Actually this tradition of paying homage is applicable to his side of the family since they’re more insistent that certain visits MUST be made, regardless of whether we have any close ties with those said families.   However, this tradition is fast eroding because the man has been quite a rebel and resisting the visits these few years.  We’ve stopped visiting certain families and this year, the boy and I were spared from all visitations altogether.

Although I don’t have much problems seeing these families once a year, I’m glad to be spared the visits of course.  Chinese New Year visitations was totally alien to me when I first got married because I never had to visit anyone on my side of the family.  Since my parents were the eldest, everyone had to pay homage to our family instead.  But truth to be told, I actually looked forward to Chinese New Year before I got married because it meant a gathering with my nieces and nephews whom I am very fond of.  I was even happy handing out ang pows to them!

And I really wish I can go back to my mum’s and still have a gathering every first day of the Chinese New Year like before.  But it’s not an option opened for me since getting married.  Nah.  Not anymore.