Chinese New Year Eve

The day before CNY starts with the praying of my maternal grandparents in my 5th Uncle's place. This ceremony actually occurs in the afternoon but since I usually spend my whole morning sleeping, this is literally the first significant thing that happens on CNY eve.

A variety of mouth-watering dishes will be served on the table, much to the delight of our grandparents I believe. After everyone prays, a pair of items will the thrown to reveal 3 informations about my grandparents.

This means that my grandparents are angry.

My grandparents are laughing.

My grandparents have finished eating.
Only then, can we all burn the offerings and keep the dishes.
I find this ritual amusing.

The lunch that we have later on are basically the same dishes that we served during the ceremony. Of course, there's more where they come from.

At night, we'll move on to my eldest aunt's place.
These are my cousins and sister, mixing Lou Sang ingredients. This is one of the most symbolic occasion during CNY.

Spot the salmons at the top!

Wikipedia says, "The dish is served as an appetizer to raise ‘good luck’ for the new year. Families and friends gather around the table and, on cue, 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."

We'll then proceed to our reunion dinner. A meal with close family members is always something to look forward to.

My cousin will then celebrate his Chinese birthday. It's certainly nice to be born during festive seasons. Might not be desirable when his mum had to endure the pain and deliver the baby many years back but at least he gets to celebrate his Chinese birthday annually with all his siblings.