Sweet Reunion

I have never been a fan of CNY - never followed traditions like staying past 12MN,visiting the festive market, getting new clothes/a fresh hairdo especially for the occassion. There were even years where I contemplated getting away for CNY, or envied the other races for having a long hols without any obligations or the 'silly' last minute rush.

And so, I caught myself by surprise when I succumbed to the mad frenzy, paid a huge premium, and flew bck home for CNY. Humbling in a way cos I would have scorned, a yr bck, of how faddish it seems- e rush,anxiety of getting tickets, pple in SG wanting to fly bck to HK, fr SHG to SIN, TW - SIN, SIN- TW, HK- KL, KL -SIN etc etc - despite the recession, despite celebrations being much grander say in HK/China, despite the same CNY songs being played everywhere.

But the exhilaration on all the faces speaks of the anticipation - be it for the weather/ mahjong/food/company -of experiencing CNY the way each of us have known it to be. I love the ST special report on CNY reuinon dinners of different dialects this yr. Perhaps, this unconsciously is how we all uphold these tradition.

Well, I still din manage to hold up past 12MN ( its the age!)but this CNY holds much more significance having been away from home. Being in the company of family& friends, having steamboat cum suana, trying to curb the intake (without much success)of the pineapple tarts/kueh lapis gulped down - all these have been particularly sweet (will deal with the weight gain later).

So Happy New Year one and all. Bask in the festive air and the truly multicultural array of CNY goodies.