Chinese New Year rant....Then....and NOW...

Then. As a child, I've always looked forward to the Lunar New Year.

I will always wake up very early and take the morning papers and slot them under my parents door, and besides wishing them a good morning, I'll also wish them 恭喜发财，身体健康。 Or 'gong xi fa cai, shen ti jian kang', meaning great wealth and health.

I will also ask them, throught the door, for permission to open up the goodies, the bak-gua, the peanut cakes, and what-have-you.

This is also a time when we get to see many of our relatives and friends. People whom we only get to meet once a year, mostly. My siblings and I will enjoy greeting all our uncles and aunties with well wishes while we get what we deserved, ang-pow, a pat on the head, and your usual stuff like Wah, so big already ah! and Aiya, look just like your father!

We, the kids, will then stuff ourselves with all the delicious goodies and play with each other while the adults talk about everything under the sun.

Now. We, the kids, have all grown up. Many are married, with children, and maid. The adults back then are now old folks. They still chat with each other like the good old days, everything under the sun. But we, the grown up 'kids', do not really chat like how the adults do back then. My cousins. I knew them since we were young. I know they are my cousins. But there is this awkward unfamiliarity. It's like I'm meeting strangers whose name I know. But I don't feel any warmth from them.

I remember visiting my aunt and my cousins at their place 2 years back. Arriving at their place, my uncle and aunt came to greet us at the door and welcome us in.

My cousins were sitting around the table having a card game. I moved towards them, shook each of their hands, and wished them well. After that, they just sat back down and went on with their game.

How rude. Is this what your parents taught you? Is that what you have learned from all the expensive education you had?

Maybe they are shy, I'll give them the benefit of a doubt.

So, last year, I decided to pay them a visit, again.

Maybe it's my luck or something, but the exact same thing happened again. They were still huddled around the table, playing their card games, not even budging their asses to at least receive their guests.

I've had enough. I just walked past them like they're never there and just sat down on the couch. I talked only to the real adults, and left after 15 minutes. I could've confronted their disgraciousness with a few carefully crafted verbal jabs and jibes of my own, I'm totally comfortable with that, but refrained from doing so out of respect for my uncle an aunt. Kids these days have no manners, no sense of proper conduct.

Back at my parents', I told them what happened, and I said that I'll never visit them again.
All these festive visitations have lost it's meaning and purpose. It's becoming more of a drag, a torture.

The Chinese people used to value kinship very much. And proper etiquette were observed, even with enemies. Well, apparently, not any more.

With all the technology that's suppose to make the world smaller and bring people closer, the lack of real strife and hardship has, once again, made the chinese like grains of loose sand.

I remember seeing my grandparents and parents visiting my other 'grandma' every year. They will be sooooo very glad to see each other again and will hold each other's hand as they say their hellos and goodbyes. And they are not even blood relatives, but I can tell from the look in their eyes that they are beyond that.

You see, they went through the war and escaped from the clutches of the enemy together from China to Malaysia and Singapore. They were seperated at times, their brothers and sons died as a result of the war. And they lived, at one time, knowing that this very day could be the last they see each other.

The bond between them is thicker than some blood can or will ever be. But sadly, this type of bond will be hard to come by these days. People are too busy, living and building up their own lives and accumulating wealth.

'Blood is thicker than water?' Yeah right.