I had a swell time with all my family, aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins' kids. I have a large extended family. My dad has 6 siblings and my mom 4. Each aunt/uncle had 2 or 3 children and the majority of my cousins have one to three kids now. It was unfortunate that not all the relatives could make it back to Madou (where my Dad is from) to celebrate with us. However, this New Years was certainly memorable and has reminded me the importance of family and tradition. 這次過年提醒我家人和傳統的重要。我的確忘了有大家庭的感覺。
First of all - the tradition (傳統). There are several steps involved in Chinese New Year to ensure prosperity as well as to appease one's ancestors. The day before New Year (除夕), one must prepare food to "feed" the ancestors at a special table, usually adorned with Buddhist/Taoist deity statuettes and icons. Incense (香 - I hope I used the right word) is required and people usually speak or think while holding the incense about future prosperity or about deceased family members or family members in need. After this step, or 拜拜 (bai bai), there is a huge meal with all the family members (of the male's side of course) followed by red envelopes from the older generations to the younger. In my family, we often have extra performance time for the youngest generation to earn more money.
The tradition of family being together is wonderful - it's like Christmas. However, some of the steps and superstitions involved are not supported by my generation. I watched an interesting TV show which features the opinions of both the young and older generations. It's true that some of the procedures involved in setting the table of food for your ancestors are too detailed and seemingly unnecessary. I, for one, know nothing about placement of food or why we need to cook so many dishes to appease the dead. I know it's tradition, and I suppose when I'm older with a family of my own, it'll be nice to carry on something similar in a smaller, less wasteful scale.
My favourite part of my renewed Chinese New Year experience was the time spent with family. 我過年最喜歡跟家人一起的時間. It's as if I have long lost cousins or something because a cousin I didn't even know existed showed up with his two kids in middle school. As aforementioned, several of my cousins have children now and many little ones I have not yet seen. It was nice to have children's energy around the house and also quite amusing. Best of all however, was spending time with my cousins. 我最喜歡跟堂表哥姐一起玩. The uncles and aunts, cousins, and cousins' children on my mom's side of the family are all very close. 真的很有團結性. All us cousins and their children get along so well and there is always so much ongoing laughter and conversation. One of my cousins whom I was always close with but have not seen for several years, was especially kind and generous to me - taking me out to fun activities such as a famous night market and setting off fireworks (煙火) by the beach.
In addition to seeing my relatives, I spent a lot of quality time with my parents and sister - which does not happen too often. My dad took us to many wonderful places and I enjoyed being part of the simpler life in the country. It all seems so innocent, laid back, and friendly. I actually enjoyed going to the rural areas more than the crowded urban areas for the scenery and tranquility. It's a difficult feeling to put into words or even a photograph, but there is a distinct rural/countryside sense that is uniquely Taiwanese. It's the feeling of looking out into the rice paddies, vegetable fields, or orchards. Bike riding on a small narrow road with wild dogs at your feet and mis-parked cars all around you with grandmothers sitting out in front of their houses fanning themselves. It's the sound of children playing baseball. The smell of soil, insects, fertilizer, and yes sewage around you while the hot sun releases its warmth upon you.
I digress. One of the main realizations from the last few days changed my initial perception upon arrival two weeks ago - that I did not belong and shall never live in Taiwan as long as I live. Now I am overwhelmed with the sense of pride of being Taiwanese, the sense of belonging to a large extended family with relatives who care for one another, and the sense of being respectful to tradition and the prior generations who have worked so hard to raise large families.
I'm sincerely grateful for my large family. Before, I never really missed Taiwan all that much. I was too absorbed in my own life abroad. Now, I will do my best to make it back once a year no matter where life takes me because I need to make up for all the years lost. 不管我多忙, 我以後真的會努力每年回來一次, 因為我需要充滿我以前失去跟家人的時間.
la famille
Red is the only colour during Chinese New Year
300 year old wall in Tainan, originally built by the Dutch
=D
baah baah black goat
glorious sunset
pigging out, as per usual
