A New Year in February

Around Chinese New Year is the time of the largest human migration,^[1] but a certain little family (as well as many other smaller and bigger ones) stayed put here in Perth.

This family had a large dinner at their home on the Chúxì (Chinese New Year's eve), and all family members in Perth were invited: The father, the mother, and the two sons. Unfortunately, the eldest son (a.k.a. Sze Howe) could not partake in the entire meal because he is allergic to prawns.

Following the meal, the family performed a small ritualistic replacement of certain old items in the home with new ones. The eldest son is now rid of his Power Rangers bedsheets. In their place are newer sheets of a lower smoothness rating, a higher itchiness rating, and which bears the slogan "Chic Au Masculin". The eldest son would appreciate any help in translating this foreign phrase which he now sleeps on, although he has a gut feeling that he will burst out laughing when he is enlightened.

On Chinese New Year Day itself, the two sons received their ang paus (red packets which were traditionally given as a blessing, but are nowadays regarded by many youngsters as merely a good source of income) before heading off to church. This was followed by a big group lunch with other Asians and appreciators of Asian culture. It was noticed that the Japanese food stall was run by a Chinese lady, and that a family from Penang operated a store with the name "Singapore Tucker". This was possibly a cross-culture effort.

That evening, the family went on their first Chinese New Year visit in Perth. The destination was the home of family friends, where the eldest son got his gluteus maximus (more commonly referred to as the "butt") kicked in two rounds of Warcraft III. He also learnt of the tradition of orange-giving via SMS.

On the second day of the Chinese New Year, the eldest son put his newfound tradition into practice as he gave away his first orange. He hopes that he does not get into trouble with animal rights activists for chasing seagulls and recruiting minions to follow in his footsteps. The Boys' Brigade parade went on as usual that night, and the eldest son learnt that one needs to notice every tiny detail of the surroundings when leading a blind man in a jog, lest he trips and falls. The day closed in the (very cold) swimming pool after the parade, where the eldest son learnt that swimming blindly without goggles and without experience can lead to 90-degree deviations from the intended path.

Actually, the day ended with the typing of the above blog entry.

No, the day ended with the typing of the above statement about the above blog entry.

Well actually, the day ended...

Forget it.

Footnotes
_{1. "Chinese New Year". Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved on 19 February 2007}