photoblog: the eve of the new year a.k.a reunion dinner day.

on the day before the Chinese new year(CNY), it's obviously new year's eve la.. but the chinese have the tradition where the a family will get together for dinner on the eve of CNY. ergo, it's called reunion dinner. it's quite confusing though when one has 2 sets of grandparents, the maternal and paternal. however, tradition is that reunion dinner will always be with the male side of the family. why? simple. b'cuz according to the chinese tradition. once a woman marries, she marries INTO the husband's side. ergo, she is no longer part of her family. or something like that. but she has become her husband's family. yeah.. i think it's called 'kuo moon'(cross door).. dunnolah.. can't really remember. but yes. i'm trying to get back to my roots. why? b'cuz my dears.. my mum and aunts were pointing something out. about how the meaning of CNY has been lost. true.. i have to admit. i read in the newspapers about how CNY has become really commercialised. and how it's just about ang paus(red packets filled with money), gambling, drinking, and eating. to be truthful, i'm not even sure about the traditions.

what i know?

1) you can't wash your hair on the first day of new year.
2) you can't sweep the floor
3) you have to do super-spring cleaning before the new year arrives
4) apparently it's good luck to burn BIG red firecrackers.. i know that one of the lucky times to do that is between the hours of 11pm and 12am on the eve.
5) there's a 'hoi nian' banquet on the 2nd day.

and then.. i can't remember anymore. anyway.. took some pics on the reunion nite.

the food:



~start of massacre of the duck~

~massacred duck~


~and there you have.. the arm of the uncle who was involved in a botched robbery. apparently the only reason why the thieves couldn't take the money from his pockets was cuz it was so bulky. even after slashing his pants to get to the money. and in my uncle's other pocket was a camera.>.< no wonder the thieves followed him.. 2 bulky pockets.. and on top of that, he was withdrawing RM700 worth of ONE DOLLAR notes.. hahahah.. the thieves must've thought he was withdrawing like.. thousands!!!hahahhaha~


~i'm just waiting for this thing to ripen.. love these custard apples.. yum yum!~


~cousin's dog..er.. summer? or is that her mother, fluffy? can't remember..~


~evidence of my involvement with the firecrackers...~






~waiting for the firecrackers to be lit.. that's my mum's side of the family.~


~i risked myself to take this photo!see the sparks!?? heheh.. it's already been lit~


~CraaaCCKKK~






~big fireworks~


~WoooOOt!! love these BIG rockets!! muahahhaha~


~the kids.~


~the BIG kid~

and yes.. i did take the usual amounts of 'self-portraits' with my cousins. hehehe..







i can honestly say that 2 of these photos freak me out a lot. one is the one where my li'l cousin and her siter are playing with the dog cuz it's so dark and her hair's falling over her face.. reminds me of all those asian horror movies.. freak... the other one? is of my other li'l cousin who's looking at the camera with her eyes wide open 0_0... freaky la!


~another "i take you taking me while u take me taking u" pic with my cousin~

and that's all.. for now:)

m'sian time:4.04am(10feb05)

so much for sleeping 'early'....