STAR BLOGGERS

This festive season, I took some time off from eating and drinking to write this down and pay attention to the many things that make Chinese New year enjoyable for the whole of Singapore, and not just the Chinese, by the way. This is an amalgamation of sorts, but really these are the most important things that separate Chinese New Year from most other occasions and holidays. It’s time we took note, because the next time you think you hate Chinese New year and all the festivities, remember:

The 10 things I actually like about Chinese New Year.

1)The reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve.  Delicious home cooked food, the chance to see cousins, uncles, aunties and grandparents together under one roof, and the opportunity to gorge myself, no-holds-barred.

2)When I go house visiting, often times my close friends/ relatives often own gaming consoles, beer, pool tables or tonnes and tonnes of Chinese New Year snacks.

3)Receiving Red Packets from relatives, friends, and sometimes even from very distant relatives you never knew existed! Either way it’s more pocket money.

4)Now there’s an excuse to go out and buy some expensive new clothes while making new fashion statements here and there. Never mind that there are clothes in my wardrobe that are so old, they’ve already gone in and out of fashion several times.

5)During and after the festive season, there will be a ton of Chinese New Year goodies left lying around the house including melon seeds, kueh bangkit, Bakkwa, among others, and it’s up to me to polish them.

6)I receive tonnes of mandarin oranges during Chinese New Year, they are easier to peel than oranges, they taste good, they are addictive, and the numbers of mandarin oranges I will probably consume throughout the entire festive season collectively pack enough Vitamin C to kill a small pony.

7)Cable TV enables all channels free of charge for the first 3 days of the festive season.

8)A bonanza of Chinese variety shows on Channel 8 and Channel U, and blockbuster movies on Channel 5.

9)It’s a public holiday that everyone enjoys because of us, the people who celebrate New Year in the middle of February.

10) Every Chinese New Year leaves enough pineapple tarts, biscuits, pastries and confectionaries to last 3 more Chinese New Years…

Have a happy Chinese New Year, friends and family!

Simon Lew Wei Qi is a 19 year old film student who is anabashedly proud of being Chinese and actually gets excited about CNY every year. Never mind that his friends find it super uncool. His favourite CNY party icebreaker joke? Revealing his real name: Simon Shingz Boomz Lew.

10 things I hate about CNY

1. Steamboat: Reunion dinners are all about steamboat and I personally hate steamboats. Steaming hot bowl of soup really makes me steam with with hatred towards this dish.

2. Nosey Relatives: Relatives, aunties, cousins really have to ask the dumbest of questions during this period. ‘ When are you getting married?’ , ‘Have girlfriend/boyfriend’ , ‘ Your not getting any younger’ . Well, honestly, it’s really none of their business.

3. Chinatown: Hey, most people have to go to Chinatown for non-cny reasons. So, cny period makes it almost near impossible to go Chinatown.

4. Giving Red-Packets: Hey, unfortunately some of us have to get married and its an absolute pain to give red packets to irritating kids running around giving everyone a headache.

5. Queing up to buy Bak Kwa: Hey, can we all just pre-order earlier. Whats with all the queues man?

6. Delivering CNY Goodies: Hey, its a real pain carrying a basket of oranges around TOWN. How cool can anyone look with a red basket walking around the central business district. ‘Applicable to sales people’

7. Having to diet after CNY: Hey, what better time to pig out on all the CNY goodies and yes, the after CNY diet.

8: Over-dosing on Mandarin Oranges: Hey, the oranges are all over and everyone just cant help to shove them down our throats. Well, prepare the lomotil.

9. Having a girlfriend who works in Mediacorp: The roads in the night are absolutely jam near to Mediacorp due to the flower gardens around. Once again, can pre-order or not?

10. Wearing the colour red: Well, honestly, red is not the most flattering colour ever so, some people just dont look good in it. So, enough said, these are the 10 things I hate about CNY. Best soloution, go on a holiday but remember to book early!! :>

Shaun Lim is a 28 year old sales manager who has been trying to skip family reunion dinners, but to no avail. To date , he estimates that he has spent over $10,000 on CNY food and decorations that his mum made him buy over the years. He hopes to marry a girl of another race and use that as an excuse to not celebrate CNY.