Chinese New Year & Ang Pow

Chinese New Year has always been associated with longevity, prosperity and good health. It is one of the prominent festival among the Chinese community and

Chinese New Year has always been my favourite ever since I was young, mainly because it is the only occasion where I get to meet all my cousins, uncles, aunties and relatives. It’s the only time when we get to catch up, eat, sleep and play with my cousins. I still remember those days when I was in primary school, Chinese New Year is always the best part of the schooling calendar because that’s when we usually have 2 weeks school holidays. Sadly all good things must come to an end, today those studying aren't as lucky to have such long holiday during Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year has been my childhood favourite mainly because I get to collect lots of red packet (also known as ang pow in hokkien) which contains money of course. Why am I so happy about collecting ang pow? Well, I come from an average family that struggle to live on a limited budget. Collecting ang pow has always become my main source of income as the money I collected yearly is always few times the total pocket money I get in a year. Thus I'm always happy when Chinese New Year arrived, because that’s when I get to fill my piggy with loads of moo lah. Its not a few million ringgit, but it’s was a lot to me when I was still a little child. Till today the money I usually get from ang pow is still a lot to me, because the cost of living has risen dramatically in recent years, so every single ringgit I manage to get in an ang pow will actually make a different.

Besides the money, this is when I get to eat, eat, eat and eat non stop, because relatives will be visiting and they usually brings lots of food stuff, like Chinese New Year biscuits, mandarin oranges, chocolates, soft drinks and etc.

Like any other year, I can’t wait to celebrate the Chinese New Year which is 4 days away. So whets do you like most about Chinese New Year??