Ok, I admit that every Chinese New Year, my family only waits till the last minute before we start on any sort of preparation or spring cleaning for that matter. Obviously, this year was no exception. CNY goodies and Mandarin oranges were only bought a day or two before Chu Yi albeit cut-throat prices. Of course, there wasn’t much to choose from considering that most of the better ones have already been bought up days before. We weren’t bargain-hunters too. So, no midnight Chinatown spree on the eve.

And that was just the tip of the iceberg. My Dad had been talking about giving the house a new lease of life by giving it a fresh coat of paint. That was in December. No doubt he procrastinated and only begun work about a week before CNY which left my Mum fuming mad as she had to re-tidy and re-clean some of the areas that had already been scoured. I can still hear her chastising him in my sleep sometimes!

Actually, I’m not much better either. My Mum instructed me to wipe the doors and windows when I returned from camp on Friday but I let it drag on till after Sunday’s reunion dinner. You know, procrastination is hereditary too! Call me unfilial but I’m not a believer in the tradition of Shou Sui. That said, I went to bed a little past midnight after watching the countdown programme on TV while my parents laboured on to do the final touch-ups.

Every year without fail, when the first visitors arrived, nobody except my Grandma would be awake in the house as they had slogged themselves out the night before. Yes, it’s a bad practice which we are hoping to change next year. In part, I have to shoulder a half of the blame as I have actually awoken before my relatives arrived but not wanting to exit the room because it would be difficult for me to socialize with them due to the huge generation gap. But I know that that should not be an excuse. I promise I would do better next year.

Unlike many Singaporeans, my family do not have a lot of relatives to visit. So, house visiting was quite a zippy affair barring a trip to the relatives on my Mum’s side. On most occasions, we would hitch an initial ride from my cousin-in-law and then depend on public transport for the rest of the trips. We are firm believers in the non-payment of the holiday surcharge for cabs – unless necessary. For instance, to make it more convenient for my Grandma to travel around.

This CNY, I observed two trends that run in my family and maybe yours too. Firstly, it is that nobody on my Dad’s side gamble during CNY. As far as I recall, I don’t even remember seeing a mahjong table or a deck of cards present at any of the house gatherings. Of course, this can be a good or bad thing depending on how you seee it, but I just find it weird that none engaged in festive gambling when majority of Singaporeans are doing so.

A second trend, which is much more worrying, is perhaps the dying tradition of house visiting. In my opinion, house visiting is part and parcel of CNY. No, I’m not talking about going to your friend’s place but more significantly, your blood relatives. It may be boring, but think about how much joy you’re bring your parents and grandparents when they reacquaint with their siblings, uncles or aunties. Moreover, it’s only once a year. Who knows you might pick up some dirty little secret of your parents while eavesdropping on their conservations as the older generation reminiscence about the good ol’ days.

Today, teenagers and young adults alike are taking advantage of the two-day holiday to escape to nearby islands for an exotic short vacation instead of visiting their relatives. Sad but true. They even came up with a Chinese term for it – Bi Nian. Every family is different, so I cannot generalize by proclaiming that such people are ingrates. But please, save a fading custom. Think about the happiness you’re depriving your elders of. I confess that I’m not close to any of our cousins/nephews/nieces but for the sake of my parents and grandparents, I’ll make the effort to bring them wherever they want, especially when they are old with a bad memory next time.