Chinese New Year is like the holiday season in the West. The whole country is shut down for at least one week and people wine and dine and some even like to gamble!
When I was little, Chinese New Year was a big deal to me. The red envelopes I received made up most of my income for the fiscal year. My whole clan is huge. My dad has 13 siblings and my mom has 9. Just imagine all the uncles and aunts who are related to me by blood, let alone my dad's business associates and my mom's friends. All the grown ups knew to pay up when they saw me.
When my grandpa was still alive, we would need to set up at least two big tables on Chinese New Year's Eve in order to seat everyone. After dinner, Grandpa would call out the youngest child to hand out the first red envelope of the evening. One by one, all of us would get a nice hefty red envelope. Different age bracket determined the amount received. The last one I got from Grandpa was when I belonged to the 12-15 age bracket. And that was the biggest one I've ever received.
Years past, I'm all grown up. Grandpa is no longer around. My mom lost her parents due to illness. My parents both have lost a brother in recent years. None of my siblings is married and therefore I don't have any little ones to give red envelopes to. I can't remember the last time I saw my cousins even though they all have children of their own. It's hard for anyone to imagine how come I have cousins in their 50s and I'm only 33 this year.
Sadly to say, a family feud has separated our clan and everyone goes on their own way. Every year less and less relatives join us for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. Chinese New Year is never the same again!
Last night over Chinese New Year dinner, there were seven people plus our dog. Grandma, my recently divorced uncle, my mom & dad, my brother, me and the maid. We sat very comfortably because the table was designed to seat 10. I remember when we're kids, we didn't even get to sit at the table and would end up sitting in front of the TV with all the other cousins. Too many people and too little seats. My aunt who's a Buddhist nun came home after we finished dinner and surprisingly, she gave me and my brother each a red envelope! This is the first envelope from her in years! I don't think she's even given us one ever since she shaved her head to become a nun.
The whole night my grandma was mumbling something about not having enough food on the table. In the past everything would be prepared by the tradition - a fish is a must, rice noodles, chicken, pork, veggie called longevity, and lots more. This year we had hot pot! I can only imagine what's going through my grandma's mind. Thinking about our old holiday tradition makes me feel quite nostalgic!
The highlight of the evening has gotta be my grandma questioning, "Why aren't you married?" My mom told me later on that last week my grandma called to ask her for my husband's name. This is hilarious! I guess my grandma has gone to so many weddings that she can't remember who is whom.
Part of the tradition was to stay up past midnight to welcome the new year. The adults would gather around the table and it turned into a casino. The kids would take their red envelopes and buy fireworks. Those were the happy days!
