Chinese new year for me every year is a special time of the year where
I mostly spend time with my family and friends. I have fond memories
of almost every new year spent and its been real fun. Its one of those
times of the year where you're in the mood for some boozing and gambling,
having annual dinners with the family, and going out late after dinner
with friends. Nothing beats that routine.
As for yesterday(now the day before yesterday, since it's past midnight)
I went for an annual prayer to 7 of Penang's temples. Yeah I know, thats
ALOT of temples to go to. But it isnt exactly as pain staking as it sounds,
all we do is get one of those huge joss sticks, light it up and mount it on one
of the stands provided infront of the temple. The only reason why it takes
so long is because of the legions of people who come every year, making
prayers to the Gods for health and wealth. What more can you ask for eh?
The one thing about going to these 7 temples every year is I get to see
chinese culture in Penang at its best. The thing about our culture is I dont
really look into it all year round, so yeah once a year is fair enough for me.
Going to the temples makes all 5 of your senses go into overdrive, first you see
the vast array of colours, chiefly red all over the place. The golden designs
of dragons and what not, dieties lined with offerings in front of them, and
DONT laugh, chicks too. Believe it or not, chicks go to temples too, hordes
of them. Next your nose is tingled and slightly annoyed by the heavy smell
of incense everywhere and smoke coming from the vast amounts of joss
paper being burnt. Through your ears, you can hear the loud drummings
and clashing of cymbals within the temple walls, loud chatter of people
and fireworks from a distance. Walking towards the dieties you can feel
heat from the large fires from the concrete furnaces used to burn offerings
and extra joss sticks. As for taste, I had an eclipse mint in my mouth, not
gonna be a smart ass on that part :p
I am not going to ramble further about my temple hopping escapade as
I would have to make this post extremely draggy. Another thing about
chinese new year is that, the people who you spend it with every year.
Aside from family, the one thing I noticed every year is that the friends
I spend new year with are different every year. There are of course some
old ones but most of the time new ones. Only through cny do I notice that
people that we were once so close with eventually become strangers or
hi bye friends, which is kinda sad. But of course, there will always be new
people waiting to be friends. Only through photographs do I see the happy
times, but that isnt entire true. Why cant this present moment be a happy
time? I leave that for you to judge. I dont need the past to bring back good
feelings, instead I appreciate the present and look forward to the future.
I mostly spend time with my family and friends. I have fond memories
of almost every new year spent and its been real fun. Its one of those
times of the year where you're in the mood for some boozing and gambling,
having annual dinners with the family, and going out late after dinner
with friends. Nothing beats that routine.
As for yesterday(now the day before yesterday, since it's past midnight)
I went for an annual prayer to 7 of Penang's temples. Yeah I know, thats
ALOT of temples to go to. But it isnt exactly as pain staking as it sounds,
all we do is get one of those huge joss sticks, light it up and mount it on one
of the stands provided infront of the temple. The only reason why it takes
so long is because of the legions of people who come every year, making
prayers to the Gods for health and wealth. What more can you ask for eh?
The one thing about going to these 7 temples every year is I get to see
chinese culture in Penang at its best. The thing about our culture is I dont
really look into it all year round, so yeah once a year is fair enough for me.
Going to the temples makes all 5 of your senses go into overdrive, first you see
the vast array of colours, chiefly red all over the place. The golden designs
of dragons and what not, dieties lined with offerings in front of them, and
DONT laugh, chicks too. Believe it or not, chicks go to temples too, hordes
of them. Next your nose is tingled and slightly annoyed by the heavy smell
of incense everywhere and smoke coming from the vast amounts of joss
paper being burnt. Through your ears, you can hear the loud drummings
and clashing of cymbals within the temple walls, loud chatter of people
and fireworks from a distance. Walking towards the dieties you can feel
heat from the large fires from the concrete furnaces used to burn offerings
and extra joss sticks. As for taste, I had an eclipse mint in my mouth, not
gonna be a smart ass on that part :p
I am not going to ramble further about my temple hopping escapade as
I would have to make this post extremely draggy. Another thing about
chinese new year is that, the people who you spend it with every year.
Aside from family, the one thing I noticed every year is that the friends
I spend new year with are different every year. There are of course some
old ones but most of the time new ones. Only through cny do I notice that
people that we were once so close with eventually become strangers or
hi bye friends, which is kinda sad. But of course, there will always be new
people waiting to be friends. Only through photographs do I see the happy
times, but that isnt entire true. Why cant this present moment be a happy
time? I leave that for you to judge. I dont need the past to bring back good
feelings, instead I appreciate the present and look forward to the future.
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