Just thought of writing this for you after recreating ver 1.2 of the blog - A long post about CNY customs in M'sia & basically just what we do during CNY - They're probably really
similiar to CNY customs in China.
On the first day , we always serve "longan" tea to our parents, wish them happy New Year, Prosperity etc - I usually tell my mum something about her looks/youth to make her happy.
Me & my sisters spend lots of time in the kitchen helping our mum - & we're making
yam meatballs this time - they're pretty nice =)
This was the reunion dinner at my 2nd uncle's house. In the top left pic, It's a dish called
"Yee Sang" - it's the first thing we eat & all of us kinda "lou"/mix the stuff on the dish while saying good things & wishing everyone luck & longevity.
& Abalone is kinda a must have dish at every reunion CNY meal we have.
& I know you hate it =P Gosh! such a waste!
On the first & 10th day of CNY, we stay up till midnight to pray. The first day is to welcome the new year in & the 10th day is for the "Heaven emperor god"...We always have the noisy red crackers & we burn "Hell money" as offerings to our ancestors & gods...The pics above are from the first days' prayers at midnight.
We also do a lot of visiting to family friends, relatives etc - & at each house it's always eat, eat, eat - talk & talk - some houses have people gambling - usually mah-jongg/ Big 2 Poker etc. We end up eating loads of snacks & CNY cookies cause ever house has cookies & snacks -.-" Pretty good for gaining weight.
This was a lunch "open house" at my 4th uncle's place on the 2nd day of CNY - you've been there - it's the really chinese house with the courtyard. Lim Yun's house. My uncle loves to drink & he started serving champagne @ 11am -.-" Champagne with Nasi Lemak was an interesting combination but we usually don't drink THAT early.
More pics from the house -I have gained sooooo much weigh in M'sia..I'm chubs now...:p
This was at the open house at my place...I guess what was special was the lion dance - they actually came INSIDE the house...sooo noisy...& the fireworks that my dad buys every year.
They look like a gigantic box of toilet tubes, but it's actually a pretty cool fireworks display...Ameleen has got some photos up on fb - I didn't manage to take any good ones.
So basically, this is a summary of what we do each CNY - there's a lot of other customs & things that we do each year, but I didn't manage to take pics of everything. I hope you actually do finish reading this though. <3
