Geraldine Ee02092009 marks the last day of celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year this year. If you did celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, how did you spend it? Did you travel to avoid the festive crowd? Or were you the social butterfly that mingled with everyone?
Smaller ka-ching
Struck by the economic crisis, many foresaw the value of their red packets, or hong baos, getting smaller. This year though, I wasn’t bothered about the money in my red packets as much as I was looking forward to meeting all my relatives and friends. In fact, I haven’t even counted how much money I got this year. Cue shocking gasps here. However, a quick look at my siblings’ stack of opened red packets, I’d say the amount is indeed half of the usual bounty.
Red packets
Byebye-pura
Like many Singaporeans, soon after I graduate this year, I’ll be flying off overseas to continue my education. This made me worry about missing my family and friends. It may be why I was more eager to visit them this year than ever and the issue of not getting hefty red packets didn’t linger in my mind much. The Chinese Lunar New Year is one of the very few times I get to visit my relatives. My father doesn’t like social gatherings, so we hardly get a glimpse of my relatives besides on special occasions, namely: Chinese New Year, my grandmother’s birthday and Christmas. In fact, this also applies to my maternal relatives. I only see my cousins on my that side of the family tree when it’s Chinese New Year, there’s a funeral or my grandparent’s death anniversary. How gloomy is that?
Hi, play with me?
When we were much younger, it seemed like we had the ability to get along with ANYBODY. We’d pick up a toy, then trot happily to the nearest victim and entice the poor soul into playing with us. Now, we might as well be strangers from different parts of the globe.
I remember meeting my paternal cousin on Orchard Road. I thought I’d caught his eye and gave a wave and hello. He raised his eyebrow and frowned at me, like i was a 2-headed alien trying to converse with him. Immediately I was taken aback and asked if he knew who I was, to which, he said, “No?” It was only when I mentioned my name that he looked like someone just slapped him in the face with a dead fish and exclaimed, “Oh! Hello.”
To think we played every single weekend at my grandparent’s house and now, we’ve an uncomfortable awkwardness. But perhaps, this is probably experienced because my family seems to avoid social gatherings like the plague.
Chowing down on the goodies
Besides meeting family and friends, anyone would have done what is expected of all sane human beings in front of delicious food and that is, eating like there is no tomorrow.
Pineapple tarts, kueh lapis[cake comprising dozens of thin alternating layers], pomelos, candies,love letters, bak kwa[barbecued sweetmeat], yu sheng[colourful raw fish salad that is a new year dish], almond cookies and the like are just some of the few typical new year foods that we all love to stuff our face with.
What else you can do with pomelo
It seems like the 15 days of the Chinese Lunar New Year make a fantastic excuse to skip that diet. My mother’s plan of following a “fruit diet” has been washed down the drain. Unless I have gone partially blind and her chicken wing was in fact, a slice of apple.
Yu sheng
Yu sheng is one of my festive favourites and it’s a shame we only ever get to eat it during Chinese New Year. Do you know that Yu sheng is a dish that was invented in Singapore? You can read about it here.
Gaining the pounds
Of course, if you’re not blessed with a high metabolism like some, the aftermath of all that eating equals to one thing: WEIGHT GAIN.
As an avid reader of Japanese fashion magazines, I have came across many tactics their models use to lose the flab and I am willing to share it with all readers at UrbanWire.
#1 The Banana Diet
B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
This is very popular with many Japanese, there are even books about it! Basically you eat about 1 to 2 bananas every morning and just drink water. This apparently keeps you full in the morning and gives you energy to kick-start the day.
#2 Half-body soak
Also popular in Japan, you soak half of your body in the tub for 20-30 minutes making sure you sweat. If you don’t sweat, you can even do some exercise in the tub, but please be careful not to drown yourself. After soaking in the tub, you should massage your body for better effect. You can purchase body rollers and apply lotions or anti-cellulite cream (for the ladies) and start rolling the flab away.
#3 Abstaining from beer and soft drinks
Say NO to carbonated sweet drinks and beer. Stick to healthier choices like fruit juices or tea.
#4 Lesser carb-intake
Taking in fewer carbohydrates like potatoes and rice will definitely help you lose weight.
#5 Dunking iced coffee
I have never tested this out myself, but I watched a talk-show and a model said she and many others all gulp down iced coffee before meals to help them not gain the kilos.
#6 Keeping a food diary
Take note of what you eat so you know when you’re eating too much.
#7 Dance away
Dancing helps you lose the flab, if you have extra money on your hands, you could purchase one of those exercising dancing DVDs. Many suggest CORE Rhythms.
#8 No more unhealthy snacks
Refrain from eating snacks unless they are healthy, like fruits or yoghurt.
As I also plan to lose the weight I’ve unfortunately gained during the festive season, I hope the above methods help. No need for pills or going to extreme methods. Self-discipline can go a long way.
Looking forward
This festive season was more than I hoped for and I managed to rekindle many relationships with relatives and old friends. Like the little children we once were, we made promises of meeting up more often and spending more time with each other and I hope we all manage to find time for that this year.
UrbanWire hopes that everyone had a wonderful Chinese Lunar New Year!