Ooh-la-la! Chinese New Year ‘round da corner… What does it really means to you?

I'm also a Earth Dragon.... Some pretty sheer "darn" luck this year I gotta F2F...

Before - In-progress of cleaning up my room....

It means cleaning up the house!! And also “AngPau” or “Red Packet” time of the year!! Red & Gold, the mixture of both colour combination brings “ONG”… HUAT ah!!

After - Manage to clean and clear!

Any plans during this season? I know everyone is busy finishing up and cramming up last minute work to take leave the whole week of Chinese New Year! Basically, we drink (till drunk??), eat (gain weight!!), talk (all-night…), gamble (till “pokai”) & definitely the key to this festive season is to make new friends, re-build & re-connect long lost relationships and to sum it all is to enjoy the reunion among friends & family! And along the way we get some “red packets” and “DOUBLE red packets” especially from those NEWLY WEDS in 2011!!! Ohohohoho! The first “Red packet” from the NEWLY WEDS must be DOUBLE! Don’t ask why, just give! (He-he-he…)
Last year and every other year, my dad will cook on CNY Eve.

CNY Dinner Feb 2011

However, since I’m jobless and a temporary house-maiden, I’m cooking this year!

Okay… To be honest, this was my 2nd attempt at baking and my 1st attempt at preparing the ingredients from scratch! The first time was ready-mix off the shelves which doesn’t taste good at all! But make it from scratch and mm-mmm YUMMY! I had a recipe taken off OTA but I kinda edited it on my own while mixing which is risky but it was worth it!

Now I have the cookies, and some pineapple tarts from my bro-in-law’s family. Plus all the other important delicacies for CNY celebration, me & my parents went for grocery shopping today to avoid the people traffic but there’s still people traffic alright, afterall this is the LAST WEEK to SHOP for groceries for CNY Eve! It’s 5 days away!
Malaysian mentality is LAST-MINUTE!! Plus the all-time famous, 30-minutes late concept… It’s N-O-R-M-A-L for us… Tee-hee… But not for me… I lose my mood when I get invited out last minute… I rather have it planned beforehand, much more organized and definitely the best way to make sure I don’t waste time… Unless it’s super ad-hoc then it can be excused to let me in last minute… If not forget it! SO you wanna go shopping over the weekend? My advise is… DO NOT GO OUT THIS WEEKEND! You will cry over the traffic jam caused by people & vehicles!! People heading outstation and hometown… People buying laaaassttt minute groceries… I won’t be surprise if some hypermarkets or malls actually offer a special CNY sales over the weekend just to triple-hype up the people shopping last minute…

Well, don’t wanna run off-track my main topic here… Hehe… I’m “cooking” steamboat this CNY Eve for my family reunion dinner!! I’m even going to cook our “Hokkien” traditional CNY must-have dish for the FIRST TIME! “Bang guan” with onions and something something wrapped in fresh lettuce and “chomp-chomp-chomp-swallow-gulp”… (Not my fav… but it’s tradition)

"Hokkien" traditional CNY every family reunion dinner -MUST-HAVE-

Have a go at some of the auspicious greetings to wish this CNY and every CNY yearly
(especially useful when wishing our elderly folks)


Auspicious Greeting sayings :
Greetings to an elder one and a younger one are lil’ different in Chinese, but in English, there ain’t a difference.

If the one you are to greet is older than you, you can say:
Wish you or bless you… (祝您…/joo neen/ )

If the one you are to greet is younger than you, you can say:
Wish you or bless you… (祝你…/joo nee/)


Phrases of Greetings
Common Greetings during the Chinese New Year

• 新年快乐(xīn nián kuài lè) Happy New Year!
• 过年好 (guò nián hǎo) Happy New Year!
• 新年进步 (xīn nián jìn bù) New Year’s progress (This is appropriate to greet any person of any age or relationship.)
• 恭喜發財 (gōng xǐ fā cái) happy and prosperous (It is always used as the phrase when one receives gifts or 'ang pows' during Chinese New Year.)
• 财源广进 (cái yuán guǎng jìn) wealth pours in from every direction
• 年年有余 (nián nián yǒu yú) always get more than you wish for (a wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year)
• 吉星高照 (jí xīng gāo zhào) smiles of fortune

Greetings for health

• 龙马精神 (lóng mǎ jīng shén) good health
• 身体健康 (shēn tǐ jiàn kāng) enjoy good health
• 精灵活泼 (jīng líng huó pō) awareness and being active (It is specially used for children with the age under 10 years, wishing them to be active and smart.)

Greetings for work and business

• 生意兴隆 (shēng yì xīng lóng) prosperous business
• 万事如意 (wàn shì rú yì) good luck in every thing
• 工作顺利 (gōng zuò shùn lì) everything goes well with your work
• 事业有成 (shì yè yǒu chéng) succeed in your career
• 平步青云 (píng bù qīng yún) have a 'meteoric rise' (usually used to in regards to work or promotions)
• 马到成功 (mǎ dào chéng gōng) success immediately upon arrival (It is usually used to express success in doing something, like taking part in an examination, a negotiation or even a competition.)

Greetings for studies

• 学业有成 (xué yè yǒu chéng) have success at school*
• 学习进步 (xué xí jìn bù) progress in studies (*These two phrases are greetings reserved for students, wishing them improvements in their studies.)
• 金榜题名 (jīn bǎng tí míng) succeed in examinations (This is reserved for those are going to take important examinations, including students.)

Greeting saying to family
阖家欢乐 (hé jiā huān lè) happiness for the whole family
 
Info courtesy of  Chinahighlights.com


Yours Forever Truly,
Sabrina