Xin Nian Kuai Le!!!
新年快乐!!!
Happy Chinese New Year!!!
Selamat Tahun Baru Cina!!!
San Lin Fai Lok!!!
errr....Xin Nee Hua Hee???
Keong Hee Huat Chai!!!
Gong Xi Fa Chai!!!
Gong Hei Fatt Choy!!!
恭喜发财!!!
Happiness and prosperity!!!
Woke up late this morn (hei...was up till 3 am wei!!!). That's the nice thing about not having to go 'pai chia'. Pai chia = errr...what's the literal translation ar???. Well, it basically is the younger generation visiting the older generation. It is done on the first day of CNY. Usually, the older generation (ahmahs and ahkongs) will be staying at home. We (ahdik and Ping) and parents will visit them and their sisters and brothers. So we will usually wake up early, dressed up in our new clothes and drink 'geng geng kua bak t'ng' (dried longan juice). Then we'll wish everyone in the house and of course, get ang pau from mummy, daddy and ahmah.
Once we're all set and uncomfortable (new clothes on a super hot day in M'sia is always uncomfortable), we set of to Air Itam ahmah's place. Ping had never celebrated a CNY without ah kong because he was around when Ping left. Haven't been thinking about him much but he will always give us a hug on CNY. That was rare as ah kong has quite a unique character. He pretty much stays to himself but he loves going out shopping and dining out with us. Till today, he's the only person that calls Ping "Pin-Pin".
At ahmah's place, we will wish gee ku, gee kim, se han ee, Unker Francis, tua ku, tua kim, Keong Hee Huat Chai. We'll hang around for a while for the first few people that comes over to visit ahmah - usually it's Unker Polo and his family, Ku kong and his family, sometimes errr...the one who stays in KL and goes to Brickfields temple...(aiyak...beh ki kiow ha mi liow). Then we'll move on to visit ahmah and ah kong's siblings. Mostly are ah kongs. There are fewer side on ahmah's side. While visiting, we'll be snacking on all the CNY goodies. When one of the ku kongs (third? second?) was still around, we will gather at his place for lunch and have roti jala!!! (Do you all still go over now that he's not around anymore?? But no more roti jala right??)
This year, seems like everyone is seriously ushering the pig year since all are being a piggy at home - lepaking at ahmah's place. And totally agree with ahdik that it used to be a major occasion when we were staying at Sunway. But suits Ping fine because Ping get to celebrate it with them on the webcam. Although it would be so much better if Ping gets to eat that two peanut cookie!! The chocolate...no need lah. Here also got ma.
The few must-haves for CNY are kuaci (melon seeds) - usually it's pumpkin seed. But the picture Ping have here is sunflower seed, which is not so common but people usually serve a variety of kuaci.
Toh tau (ground nuts)...
The most important thing = kam (mandarin oranges). The kam here are very tiny and not sweet. Rarely gets them. Ping miss the 'phong kam' the most. Ahmah used to get quite a lot of it for the prayers.
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