The strange part being seeing different people at family reunion lunches/dinners each time
Depending on who’s just come home from/gone away, to some foreign country
There are new babies – cousins, nephews, nieces
And kids who keep looking different as they continue growing up

The tradition in my family is that on the night before the First Day of the Chinese New Year, everyone goes to my paternal grandfather’s house, which is in a village area where my father grew up, and where my grandfather has lived all his life.

It’s all I ever remember doing on the Eve.
When I and all my cousins were still so little (I have a lot of them as my father has six siblings), it would be a like a huge party filled with food, noise, and hundreds of fireworks being played with on the streets with the neighbourhood children, all the way till something like 4am.

But as we all grew past our teenage years, there were less and less fireworks
It just wasn’t that exciting anymore
The magic was sadly gone

This year, the mood was very quiet
My grandfather is in remission from throat cancer
I’ve grown apart from my closest cousins
And.. we just weren’t kids anymore
Well *I* wanted to play with fireworks and run around the streets but I don’t think anyone else felt the same :p

But nevertheless I was really happy to be there
Especially with both my brother and sister together this time

Here are some photos:

The candy platter used for the praying table

Paper pineapples made by my aunt

My mom lights the joss sticks

Umm.. Something
I don’t know what these are!! *disgrace*

Candles? Some prayer thing?

The road on one side of my grandfather’s house

When I was little it was much more quaint
And when I visited I would play here and chase chickens, shoot toy guns, and play with cheap plastic toys

The neighbours’ house
It’s been like this as far as I can remember
The only thing that ever changes is the colour of the paint, once every few years
And the make of cars parked outside of it
The floors are still wooden and supported on stilts
Chickens used to hide/be kept under there (and I used to chase them)

I don’t know what these papers are called
But they get burnt in a pile… for.. something
(I fail at being chinese!!)

Perhaps I should go read up some more or speak to my mom before attempting to write about Chinese New Year..

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