Unfortunately, I have neglected updating this blog due to time constraints.
I will try to be better at doing this!!
Lunar New Year, also know to most people here as Chinese New Year because many do not know that other yellow skinned people also celebrate this event, is a HUGE event here.
Jessica and I had to go to Chinatown to visit with our wedding photographer right before the New Year and I took the opportunity to take a few pictures.
When I finally figure out how to post to the blog and arrange my pictures, I will post more pictures. In the mean time, you will all have to make do with scattered pics here and there.
Today is the 4th day of the Lunar New Year. We have spent the last few days visiting with family and friends and finally got a day of rest today, ironically, this day being Sunday.
Many people put on the extra pounds during this period (much like from Thanksgiving to Christmas in the US) from eating all the goodies when they go visiting and then OVER eating the scrumptious meals served AFTER already eating all the goodies. Chinese New Year (CNY) would be a haven for all those with the munchies!!!! However, because of the heat, I hardly eat and don't even eat proper meals moving from one home to another, so, not like any of you can tell though, I am one of the very few people who can positively say I have not put on the extra pounds during this period... like it matters, right???
I will eventually get back to the activities before the 1st day of CNY. But for now, a quick rundown of the last 3 days.
FEB 7, 2008 (FIRST DAY OF CNY)
Started off the day REAL early (by Jessica's standards) to go to my Parent's place. It is traditional (btw, I hate that word) that one shows respects by visiting one's parents first if they don't live with them. Jessica's Mom had spent the evening at our place and so, we didn't have to make a special visit to her Mom. We got to my Parent's place at about 9am, spent a few minutes there and proceeded to visit other family members. Again, it is traditional that after the parents, you visit grandparents. Unfortunately (maybe?), all my grandparents have moved on to better places. So, the next TRADITION (I'm getting sick of this word already!!!) is to visit family members, usually parent's siblings. Some families go according to age, meaning the older siblings get visited first and that's exactly what we did. We visited my Dad's oldest sibling which happens to be his brother who is also the patriarch of the family. When I was younger and living in Singapore. That would also be the first gathering place and in 18 years, nothing has changed. It is still the first gathering place of the entire family.
We then proceed to my Mom's side of the family and they make things very convenient for us by not living in different parts of the country (albeit a small country). Previously, they used to live in a really big house where the house was slowly expanded to include a second level to house another family and an addition to the rear of the house to house my grandmother (when she was still around) and an uncle. This is really a huge house and everyone had more than ample living space even though almost 3 complete families lived there. Some years back, the families living in the house sold the home to a property developer to convert the ONE BIG HOUSE into a condo (not the same as American standards, but in American standards, more like a apartment) complex of 4 floors and a total of 12 units. In exchange, the families got 2 apartments each and some cash. So, 3 of my Mother's 4 other siblings live there, which just makes it easier. 1 of the 3 that live there AND the other one who doesn't live there are actually out of town and that made it even more convenient!!!
That visit done, we proceeded to my Grand Aunt's home to have lunch. This CNY "morning schedule" has not changed in years. I remember doing this as a kid... exact same schedule.
We spent a few hours at my Grand Aunt's home and then it was on to visiting Jessica's side of the family. Most families during our Parent's generation tend to be larger. My Dad has 5 other siblings, my Mom has 4. Jessica's Mom has 4 other siblings and her Dad, who is deceased, has TWELVE other siblings! Jessica's side, as far as visiting is concerned, is a little more fluid, as in, there is not as concrete a schedule as my family. So, I just tag along and be the driver as they tell me where to go. Between where Shasta is quarantined and these last few days of visiting, I have definitely gotten a crash course in where everything is in Singapore!!
The end of the first day was a visit to Jessica's Mom's oldest brother's home, which is also home to her Grandmother. Many of her Mom's siblings and their children (Jessica's cousins) are there and that's where we have dinner.
CNY Traditions
This is the part I like most about TRADITIONS.
Part of Singapore's CNY Traditions is GAMBLING.
Many families land up at a specific and certain destination by the end of each visiting day for dinner followed by gambling.
If anyone would like to trace the root of my gambling problem. I can tell you it points right back to CHINESE NEW YEAR TRADITIONS!!!
As a little kid (7 years old, I think), I would be gambling at the same table with adults during CNY. One of the "traditions" during CNY is for kids (and unmarried individuals, which for the first year I AM NOT) to get "red envelopes". These red envelopes contain cash and it can range from $2 to whatever amount depending on how close you are to the person (again, I have always had positive cash flow as long as I have been in Singapore during CNY, this is the first year the cash flow was negative!). Anyway, we would take the contents of our red envelopes (aka Hong Bao) and gamble with that. Obviously, I was 7 and did not have credit lines or anything like that. My ATM was my Mom and there was some kind of limit to my losses (aka Mom). But, even at the tender, impressionable age of 7, I was already gambling.
The 2 most common games played during these gambling sessions are:
(1) Mahjong
For those of you who do not know what this is, it is NOT that Shanghai Mahjong stuff on your PC where you just click on matching tiles and they disappear. It's a little more complicated than that and just a wee bit too complicated to explain on this blog. But for a small lesson fee, I would be more than glad to share the components of this game with anyone!!! Like a friend text me and said, there can be "big or small" (as in the amount being played, meaning you can win or lose "big or small"), OR "friendly or unfriendly" (somewhat related to "big or small" because, the bigger the amounts played, the more "unfriendly" the game becomes).
It is popular but not the most social activity because the game can have only 4 players and it's hella noisy.
(2) Cards (specifically, Singapore's version of Blackjack)
To the uninitiated, it looks like the Vegas version. But it has a ton more rules and busting is not necessarily always a loss!!!
In this Singapore version of Blackjack, you get dealt 2 cards face down.
You cannot stand unless you have 16.
Ace plays as 1 or 10 unless with a J, Q, K or another A. Just like in Vegas Blackjack, if you get A/J, A/Q or A/K during the initial deal, you have to show the dealer your cards. Unlike Vegas, you get double your bet, not 1.5 times. If you get A/A on initial deal, you get 3 times your bet (but this varies from household to household, some households only pay 2 times your bet). Again, if you do not get any of the above hands in the initial deal, Ace plays as 1 or 10. If the dealer gets one of those above Ace and picture card hands, you do not only lose your initial bet, you have to top it up to double the payment. There is no such thing as insurance.
During the game, all cards are kept face down. Even if you bust, you SHOULD keep your cards faced down as you push if the dealer busts too.
There is no splitting, there is no double down.
The only other 2 things that I can think of that this version has that is different from the Vegas version is, you can draw to a maximum of 5 cards. If you have 5 cards and still have not gone over 21, you win double. If you take the 5th card and bust, you pay the dealer double your bet. This applies to dealer too. And here's where not showing you have busted makes a whole lot of difference. If you have busted and the dealer goes for the 5th card and busts, you still get paid double your bet!!!
Last difference and not everyone plays this. Triple 7s pays anything between 3 times your bet to 7 times your bet depending on household.
This game is a lot more popular than Mahjong because it is a lot more inclusive. It can have many more players and since you are betting for yourself, there can be players of all ages. The young ones betting $2 and the older ones betting their life savings....
That's what we landed up doing at Jessica's uncle's place at the end of the first day. I won $20!! Yippee f**king yea!!!!
TBC
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