Qintan (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} floraldance) wrote,@ 2009-01-26 20:55:00 |
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Missing Chinese New Year
Cultural relativity. That's the word of the day. As we all know (oh really), today's the First day of the Chinese New Year. But life goes on just like any other monday-morning-blue schoolday here. As I was walking along the hallway at DRL lab trying to find my math classroom, a professor stopped me.
He: "Are you Chinese?"
"Yes" (I obviously am)
He: "Is there some big Chinese festival today?"
"Yes, it's the first day of the Chinese New Year"
He: "Do you have holidays for Chinese new Year? For how long?"
"Yes we do; it depends. In Singapore we only have 2 days of public holidays because we have to work (rather, the govt wants people to work). But in China, they've week-long public holidays."
He: (musing to himself) "So the people in China don't need to work eh?"
"......haha."
He: (continuing..) "Phew! You just made my day! Today I went to the Asian bank but it was closed! On a Monday morning! I thought the bank collapsed and was worried about my money, but turns out that they're just having a holiday! Thanks!"
Me: (laughs to myself) "you're welcome!"
He: "Happy Chinese New Year!"
I've always taken Chinese New Year for granted; it's that time of the year when everyone dresses up in (gaudy or not so gaudy) red, when (for most parts silly and jarring) celebratory loud music is blasted everywhere, when children are happy because they get red packets (of money) from adults, when everyone is happy because of pastries and good food galore, and because we don't have to go to work / school.
It's only now, here in America, when most people don't even know it's the Chinese New Year, when the only pineapple tarts I get are their tantalizing pixelated images on my computer screen as my sister waves a whole box of these tarts at me over Skype, when math professors are worried that the bank has collapsed and their money gone because they weren't aware it's a big Chinese holiday, when the only traces of family and warm familiar closeness are the still silent photos sitting on my shelf..it's times like these when I realize what I miss, when I sense the gap inside.
But it's alright. Life goes on, without the cookies, the loud music, the festivities. and the people.. (maybe not).
Cultural relativity. That's the word of the day. As we all know (oh really), today's the First day of the Chinese New Year. But life goes on just like any other monday-morning-blue schoolday here. As I was walking along the hallway at DRL lab trying to find my math classroom, a professor stopped me.
He: "Are you Chinese?"
"Yes" (I obviously am)
He: "Is there some big Chinese festival today?"
"Yes, it's the first day of the Chinese New Year"
He: "Do you have holidays for Chinese new Year? For how long?"
"Yes we do; it depends. In Singapore we only have 2 days of public holidays because we have to work (rather, the govt wants people to work). But in China, they've week-long public holidays."
He: (musing to himself) "So the people in China don't need to work eh?"
"......haha."
He: (continuing..) "Phew! You just made my day! Today I went to the Asian bank but it was closed! On a Monday morning! I thought the bank collapsed and was worried about my money, but turns out that they're just having a holiday! Thanks!"
Me: (laughs to myself) "you're welcome!"
He: "Happy Chinese New Year!"
I've always taken Chinese New Year for granted; it's that time of the year when everyone dresses up in (gaudy or not so gaudy) red, when (for most parts silly and jarring) celebratory loud music is blasted everywhere, when children are happy because they get red packets (of money) from adults, when everyone is happy because of pastries and good food galore, and because we don't have to go to work / school.
It's only now, here in America, when most people don't even know it's the Chinese New Year, when the only pineapple tarts I get are their tantalizing pixelated images on my computer screen as my sister waves a whole box of these tarts at me over Skype, when math professors are worried that the bank has collapsed and their money gone because they weren't aware it's a big Chinese holiday, when the only traces of family and warm familiar closeness are the still silent photos sitting on my shelf..it's times like these when I realize what I miss, when I sense the gap inside.
But it's alright. Life goes on, without the cookies, the loud music, the festivities. and the people.. (maybe not).
