Chinese New Year 2009

Today is the most auspicious day for the Chinese. It's the first day of Chinese New Year.

It is a custom for married couples to give "ang pow", a red envelope containing lucky money to children and those who still unmarried. Red ang pow symbolises good luck and happiness. Some believe it can also ward off evil spirit

Somehow collecting ang pow has been a hobby for certain people, just like collecting stamps. I had seen people with large collection of ang pows and needed a few albums to store them.

Sensing this some business outlets had been selling their ang pows for a premium price. It is sad to see this happening as it seems that ang pow had been commercialized.

The first 2 days of the Chinese New Year, 26th and the 27th will be allocated to visiting family members and friends. Will try to squeeze some time for my co-worker. Back when I was still a student, I remember we used to visit until the 3rd or 4th day

I always looking forward for Chinese New Year when I was a kid. Maybe the ang pow is the motivation behind it. However, since 2008, it is my turn to give ang pow to the kids and unmarried. The whole idea of giving ang pow is to foster the spirit of giving. The Chinese believe that when you give, you will receive back two fold.

Have a nice New Year to my Chinese readers and friends who read my blog