Josh takes on the Big Red Party

Hey, Josh here. I’m writing on behalf of my Uncle Ben who is down with post-CNY blues (or is it an overdose of prawn rolls?).

Anyway this was only my second Chinese New Year celebrations. I think it is still an excuse to dress me up in bright coloured suits and to get visiting aunties to pinch my cheeks red. I still don’t understand why people keep passing me these red packets. And the exploding ‘faiya-wuks’ really scares the ‘poo’ out of me.

So this year, we came over to Kong Kong’s house on the evening of the first day. It was a whirlwind of activities after that. There were visits to relatives where che ches and ko kos fussed around me, and big adult uncles and aunties who took turns carrying me around.

Me and a few of my cousins

At Kong Kong’s place I have my basket of toys that keeps me entertained. There’s this set of construction toys that I love, especially the ‘buh-dozah’. And there’s the TV that plays my favourites shows. I have graduated from Elmo and his Sasame Street gang to ‘Bah-ney’ and Thomas the train. I just need to shout out the name of the shows and somebody will pop the VCD into the player. I don’t even have to figure out the remote control. How cool is that!

Check out my Truck, Digger, and Forklift!

The food is different too during this time. I watch the rest eat this black duck stew almost daily, and there was at times the leftover Satay and the ‘Sio Geng’ rolls. As for me, I enjoy tasting cookies (I usually take a nibble and leave the rest to mummy) and drinking off the yellow packet drinks (sometimes from visitors). And I found a new love in ‘Bak Kua’ that they often kept hidden from me.

I think I will grow to love the Chinese New Year celebrations even more as I grow older. Though I don’t understand why adults claim that it is not so fun for them anymore. Anyway, the celebrations wouldn’t be the same without my family around me. There’s ‘Ah Yi’ Louisa to carry me when I needed a lift, and there’s Uncle Ben to play hide and seek with me. Ah Ma and Kong Kong are the best folks to hang around with, whether to take me for a walk or to read me my favourite books. And there’s Aunty Vicky who introduced her puppy ‘Le Le’ to me, though I had preferred to keep the pup at arms length. And of course there’s my Daddy and Mummy who does all my background work, such as making my porridge, changing my diapers and rocking me to sleep.

Me and my favourite people

It’s great to be a kid during Gong Xi Fa Cai time !

Me and Uncle Ben