We all know how most Chinese New Year gatherings go – some house visiting, some catching up with relatives or even getting acquainted with some family members you never knew existed.
Other than the exciting receiving of angpaos (the thicker the better), here are 8 (a prosperous & lucky number, yay) things you will probably end u doing this Chinese New Year too.
Don’t deny it! I just saw your doe eyes glazing over those red-lid containers and deciding mentally if you should aim for the pineapple tarts first, the kueh bangkit first or the cereal crackers first. Sometimes life throws us tough decisions to make.
And this eyeing of the goodies usually happens when you’re in the midst of an awkward conversation you have no idea how to get away from, or if you’re sitting at a distance not too conveniently near the snack table.
We knew this was coming up after all that eyeing. It’s one of the times where stuffing your face with bak kwa, cookies or pastries is totally socially acceptable. Because the hosts or adults will always be offering you some of the best cookies they queued a mile for and it’s only polite if you do not refuse, right?
This is how your calorie count tracker goes up.
In case you never knew,
1 Pineapple Tart = 50-80 calories
1 Slice of Bak Kwa (57g) = 230 calories
3 Love Letters = 168 calories
2 Kueh Bangkits = 46 calories
source: healthxchange.com.sg, moh.gov.my
Proud moment when you successfully called out every single 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/n-th Uncle and Auntie correctly, hurray! Remember to start with your grandparents first and then go in descending order of seniority, or scan the room from left-right and then call everyone out correspondingly.
Note: Important that you remember the correct number, because the difference between calling someone 2nd Aunt correctly or 4th Aunt incorrectly can make you appear rude and tardy. In case of the 2nd scenario, just give a huge grin and cover up your mistake as much as possible.
“Wah you grow up already! Now become ____ (insert relevant positive, or negative adjective) already!”
“You studying primary/secondary/JC/poly what now ah? What you plan to do after this? Work where? When are you getting a boyfriend? Are you getting married after this? What is your #1 goal in life?”
We get it – sometimes you’re just there rotting your time on your couch in front of the TV, and your cousin starts playing the radio or something and voila! You suddenly hear a song that totally makes you want to get on your feet.
None of your relatives get how awesome the song is and what you’re about to do (cue: head banging, shaking, belting out at the top of your lungs) is totally inappropriate.
“Eh let’s play some mahjong! Or poker cards! Daidi? What you wanna play come come come!”
“Let’s play money lah okay? Gambling more fun mah, and eh play $5 or $10 one can?
Sometimes, you get so super restless that you wished you had your laptop with you to catch up on the latest episode of 2 Broke Girls, Running Man, or really just catching up with the mountain pile of readings from school.
Losing any of your angpaos is a sin, so you’ll make sure they’re sufficiently stuffed into the depths of either your pockets or clutch. The back of your mind is also subconsciously aware of the ang paos you’ve collected, and you also make it a point to separate them according to which side of the family you got it from. Or if the angpaos were given by your neighbours, family friend etc etc.
In spite of how some people complain about how boring chinese new year gatherings can get, I still look forward to it every year because it really is still a very heartwarming festival always bustling with loads of good cheer.
Enjoy your short short cny holidays!
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