Chinese New Year Eve

Once again, I know it is too late now to talk about Chinese New Year Eve, but I seriously have no time at all during this season to post. Just take it as if you are reading on that day.

Chinese New Year was coming in one days' time. It was time for spring cleaning. My entire family woke up early to start cleaning up the house. My dad vacuumed and mopped the floor, my mum washed the clothes, wiped the fans, sofa and everything that needs to be wiped, while I changed the bedsheets to entirely new ones. Then, my mum prepared some food, which was our own family reunion 'lunch'.

Every year during the eve of Chinese New Year, my family would have a reunion dinner with our relatives on my paternal side. We left home quite early to help out with the preparations for that night's dinner. Other than having steamboat which we have every year, this year we were also having the traditional YuSheng.

YuSheng is a Teochew-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. YuSheng is considered a symbol of abundance and prosperity. This dish is served as an appetizer to raise 'good luck' for the new year. In a celebration, families and friends gather around the table and proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying auspicious wishes out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year and it's customary that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes!

Tasty and delicious it might look, I did not really like it. It tasted wierd, especially with the carrot shreds and a strange sauce. This is a picture of a YuSheng from Wikipedia, as I forgot to take a photo of it.



After dinner, I would always play mahjong with my cousins. Of course, we never placed any bets and did not use money at all, cause that is gambling, isn't it? We were just playing for fun as we did not have anything else much to do. As a beginner who was just taught how to play, I did not expect to win. But unbelievably, of the four rounds, I won two of the rounds! That was not easy for a beginner like me.

It was finally late at night, we had to return home. Together as a family, we watched the countdown on television. 10...9...8......3...2...1...0! It is 12 midnight. The Year of Ox has finally arrived! HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!