MY BLASIAN CHINESE NEW YEAR IN HONGKONG
Jessie Larbi
I must confess for my first five years in Hong Kong, I never knew I was celebrating Chinese New Year. My obliviousness stemmed from my ignorance to learn about my Chinese origins and minimal knowledge about the language. It wasn’t until I learnt about the festival during Chinese classes in school as it was a mandatory topic.
Undeniably, Chinese New Year is a huge part of the Chinese culture, and as a half Chinese, some of the activities I engage in during this time of the year are tiny reminders of that part of me that I sometimes forget about. With the appetite of Kaonashi from Spirited Away, whenever I went to the Lunar market bazaars, I couldn’t help myself pig out on every delicious treat I could get my hands on. Munching on the peanut and sesame candy bars that swivel around my taste buds, then moving on to the next booth because they had those sugary malted strawberry kebabs that shouldn’t go unattended to.
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Legend has it that the Stove God, who is in charge of the people’s meals and livelihoods, would praise them with his presence before the New Year arrives. Then returning to the heavens to report their state of life that year to the Jade Emperor. Upon this, the Stove God would have to return to the earth to bestow either a blessing or misfortune to the families in accordance to the Jade Emperor’s orders. Peanut and sesame candy bars or the sweet delightful kebabs, were usually left out at night for the Stove God. They were meant to sweeten the Stove God’s mouth so that he couldn’t help himself but only praise these families when he relayed his message back to the Jade Emperor. The malicious part of this plan was to stick the Stove God’s teeth together in an attempt to prevent him from saying anything bad.
During this time of the year, I was most joyous of the brief holidays we got from school. For me it was the only holiday within a school term that didn’t require us to cram for the next big test. Not to mention, the tiny red pockets of bliss that came accompanied with monetary rewards from parents and adults. Usually having to ask my mother for money would have to be justified, however for this occasion every adult seemed to have been put under a spell of generosity.
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It is interesting to discover that it wasn’t always like this in the past. It could be said that it started when the world used to have Sui - an evil spirit that roamed this world. Sui would mostly appear during the Lunar New Year with the sole purpose of patting children’s heads three times; the child would come down with a fever and after recovery they would never be the same again. The red packet came into the picture when a couple placed some coins under their child’s pillow while their child was asleep as a form of entertainment. Fortunately, when Sui came that night to the attempt of its vile intentions, but was scared off by the reflection of the coins. By practice, I do follow this custom. Kept safely tucked away under my pillow, the red pocket I receive from my mother every Lunar New year, goes untouched until the following Lunar New Year. This was a practice I had picked up from my Chinese teacher. Don’ t be fooled, I keep that money there in case of an emergency or if I’m running short on cash!
At home, my uncultured self have observed my mother carry out a few other practices for which I do find quite absurd. A shining example is watching my mother fuss about the cleanliness of the house on any ordinary day but is not allowed to be thrown out the window on the first day of the Lunar New Year. As it is believed that dusting the house would cause the good fortune to be swept away.
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I used to have this classmate with distant relatives from the Mainland; They lived in the rural part of Sichuan. One of the old rituals that her family there still diligently followed was the one about staying ungroomed during the three spiritual days. It is believed that grooming oneself on these days would be equivalent to washing away one’s prosperity and wealth. But it is always wise to clean ourselves before the Lunar New Year arrives so that we look our best on the first day of the New Year.
A recurring theme throughout the Lunar New Year festivities, if it’s visiting relatives or wearing red underwears during your rebirth year, it seems to always narrow down to welcoming good fortune into one’s life. As much as I would like to believe or tell myself that I’m modernized enough to not succumb to such superstitious rituals or beliefs, I do have to admit I have indeed fallen for a few. I suppose it’s safe to say that it isn’t entirely harmful to hold onto a few practices that may or may not bring me fortune throughout the year, especially during these strange times.