How has this CNY been? Same old, same old. The reunion dinners, the gathering of the clans, the feasts that followed, the exchanging of mandarins and ang pows...
But what's different this year was the fact that I realized how so many people out there who do not get to celebrate CNY like how I've come to take for granted with family and friends.
How it started was that I spoke to my colleague who's father is Chinese and her mum Thai-Indon. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her mum. One CNY, her mum went to church, leaving her all alone during the eve or CNY night itself. She had to cook her own instant noodles and cried to herself while eating it, with a determination that took root that she needed to marry a Chinese man in order to celebrate CNY properly.
Then KS and I went to visit my uncle Lay Kim at the old folks home in Melaka. He's my mum's half brother and he used to bring me and my cousins a boxful of firecrackers every single CNY. I noticed he was still in his room upstairs despite it being a lovely day outside. When I asked him why he wasn't walking in the garden, he replied, "They don't let me walk out of my room at all. I feel like a prisoner here". :(
So here's a thought to those out there who do not have families with to celebrate CNY with, this is the best I've done: I've eaten on your behalf and put on weight for you.
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