It's Chinese New Year!!!
Today we stayed at home and received visitors all day.
Because my grandma is the matriarch of the family, all the family members and extended family members and old friends and staff came to pay their respect.
It's an all day semi-feast ("semi" because the food is not that great). Basically as guests arrive, they set the table and serve a meal of assorted cakes, puddings, crackers, and things. Everyone eats and drinks tea and catches up. Then the guests leave. The table gets cleared. Everything gets washed. More guests arrive. The maids frantically cook and clean. The table gets re-set. New food (the exact same meal we just ate previously) is served. And we all sit down again to eat with the new guests. This goes on all day and at the end of the day we've gone through the whole cycle about twelve times.
What makes it all worthwhile?
Little red packets of lai-see.
All containing $$$.
Each adult visitor brings a packet or two for each "child" for good luck.
Also, there is a dragon dance.
Interesting fact: Dragons eat oranges and lettuce. And money.
By the end of the day, everyone is exhausted and sick of turnip cakes and old, talkative people who just don't know when to LEAVE.
But then we remember that we have our wonderful little red packets of joy and FINALLY we get to see what's inside.
Chinese New Year. Is awesome.
Kristy: All alone at home, with no red packets or visitors. Just kidding. My parents sent me $100 so at least I have that for comfort.
ReplyDeletegung hay fat choy my cantonese speaking friend. you are so awesome cause you are the product of the real man's dialect.
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