Lest I forget: Chinese New Year in Malaysia

4 years of not celebrating Chinese new year, lest I forget, here are my fond memories.

Pre-new year: sweep, mop, wipe & polish. No more cleaning during the new year! That’s bad luck!

Feng shui they say, the painting of the waterfall must flow inwards.

Red cloth on the front gate and that Chinese lantern at the front porch?

Oh, we never take them down anyway.

“Gather your old clothes! Donate them or give them to your cousins!”

New year’s eve will always be at mum’s place in Malacca.

Kong kong, ee ee, fu fu and my favorite cousins Miguel, Noel, Samuel, Rachel. Yup they all end with “-el”.

“nanti bininya mengamuk…” Gossip fills the air of this semi-baba nyonya house.

“Wah, so tall already”, “How old are you ah?”, “What did you get for UPSR/PMR/SPM?” everyone would ask repeatedly.

It’s fire crackers time!

Different fire crackers different levels:

Beginner starts with pop pop, then bumble bee, dragon egg and once you’re old enough — the ultimate ones “se tian kong” and “thunder”.

Tired? Eat all the kuih.

Kuih bahulu, kuih bangkit, kuih kapit, nonya zhang.

It’s the first day! Chor yat as my mum says.

Our whole family goes to church (weird but true). The church even gives angpaus and oranges! Wow, talk about being generous.

We head further south, this time to Dad’s place in Johor.

“pandu perlahan-lahan ya.” Kongkong said.

“Are we there yet? When are we going to get there? Pa, are you using the small roads to avoid the tolls again?

Oh my, it’s already late night. We finally arrived at the wooden house.

A silhouette is standing at the front door. It’s grandma! She’s up all night waiting for us.

“There’s still food at the back! You all must be hungry!” she said in Hokkien.

We took out some food from the closet (yes it was a food closet) and ate a late dinner together.

Shower time was the most dreadful.

There was no warm water. Ah, the shivering cold! With squat toilets that looked like monsters were in them.

It’s the next morning!

Put on all your new clothes! New shirts, pants, shoes, belts everything!

Comb your hair and put on your new glasses.

Ah, cousins from Singapore, always with the latest gadgets.

“Ma, pa, they have Gameboys! Can I have one? Pretty please”

“Shh, next year next year…”

Time to visit all my extended relatives….

First stop, grandfather’s brother’s son’s adopted brother’s place.

Wow, who are all these relatives that I never seen before?

Never mind, I’ll just help myself to these roasted cashew nuts and pistachios.

Oh no, they’re giving out angpaus. I need to greet them. What do I call them? Suksuk, beh goh, jiujiu, kuzhang, xiaosuk, which one?

Added to the embarrassing fact that I cannot speak Hokkien.

I am confused!!! Just smile and say “lu ho boh? gong xi fa cai, xi nian kuai le!” I guess.

It worked!

Yay angpaus!

RM50! Wow, relatives from Singapore are the best! RM2?! Did uncle lost his job?

Cookies, tarts, bakwa, meat floss, mandarin oranges are set on the table all day.

Fruit trees are all around the house.

Langsat, durian, rambutan are part of new year at Johor.

We’re near Singapore! Turn on Singapore’s TV channels! Channel 5 & 8!

Channel 8 has all the new year programs! New year songs all day.

It’s cousin bonding time.

More pop pop, fire crackers and of course card games.

Chor dai di, heart attack, in between, black jack and more!

No money to gamble? No problem, substitute real money for peanuts. Winner gets bragging rights till next new year.

What is new year without alcohol right?

Guinness, Tiger, Carlsberg are local favorites.

Kids? Jolly Shandy and Anglia will make you feel like a badass.

It’s time to go back to KL.

Ahhhhhh KL, I miss you. Kampungs are nice but deep down I’m still a city boy.

Time to count them angpaus!

Wow, it’s more than last year!

“Mummy will help you keep your money in the bank ok?”

“Erm, okay.” I said reluctantly.

“But can I keep some?” I added.

“Ok, you can keep RM50.”

“Thanks ‘mmy!”