I've always enjoyed Chinese New Year, much as I enjoyed Christmas. For me, these two holidays mark a reunion of Family and Friends and both have always been close to my heart. Even though we live in Australia, my Mother always encouraged us to understand & celebrate Chinese New Year, just as she encouraged us to celebrate Christmas. Despite their contrasts & distinctive flavours, I consider myself quite lucky as I can participate in both of them!
This year, Craig and I flew back up to Cairns to take part in the Cairns Street Festival. Ever since I was a little kid, my family has always had a big part to play. My Mum was (and still is!) heavily involved in CADCAI, the Cairns & District Chinese Association. Even though my Mum's extended family are in Malaysia, CADCAI is like our extended Chinese family. Everybody is Uncle or Aunty somebody!
I used to be one of the Chinese Dancers and when I was a teenager, volunteered to teach as well despite my lack of professional training. It wasn't long before all three of my sisters and even my younger brother Aidan, all took their turn performing. But we're certainly not limited to Chinese Dancing alone! We've all had a go at Dragon & Lion Dancing and to the present day, my three younger siblings are still heavily involved. It's always a pleasure to go home and see them involved with the other Cairns kids. They always have a blast!
I can't help but think of my Mum's family in Malaysia. I hope they're enjoying themselves as much as we are. Chinese New Year is a time for family to get together, to share deliciously creative food and also to remember great times shared while creating new moments. It's a time to wear new clothes, be generous to one another & to love.
Speaking of generosity, now that Craig and I are married, gone are the days of collecting Hong Baos! When I was a kid, there was nothing more exciting then saying "Gong Hei Fat Choy!" to your elders and collecting the red envelopes of Hong Baos, which always contained money, even if it was only a dollar! Think of it as the chinese equivalent of Christmas presents. Once you're married though, you're the one who does the handing out of cash, which my siblings didn't fail to exploit. Never mind though - I can easily combine this with my Buddhist practice so all's well that ends well.
Although Craig and I could only spend a quick weekend in Cairns, we certainly crammed in value. After helping take photos at the street festival, we went along with our family to do the Lion Dancing round. Restaurants traditionally invite Lion Dancers to perform at their restaurants and with the help of fire crackers, it's somewhat cleansing of bad luck & wards off evil spirits in preparation for the new year. It was a delight to see my siblings perform. They drum, cymbal, lion dance & fool around with the other kids a lot! But I think the dinners at the restaurants enjoy the performance as much as the kids do. It's a chance for noisy celebrations! I also caught up with an old friend, Johno & his family. His baby boy is sooo cute!
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