Hey guys!
It is the 9th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year! Have decided to share my experiences celebrating Chinese New Year (CNY) in Surrey so far!
Back in Singapore, I used to have loads of gatherings and meet-ups from friends to celebrate together through hotpot from restaurants. Even though we are not allowed to have light firecrackers, we have our fair share of fun and unique way of celebration! During the eve of CNY, my family and I would have our own hotpot for hours before we do our final cleaning to welcome the new year! Visiting relatives would usually take us more than 3 days (yes, we went visiting even during weekends!). Some relatives are people you would only meet once a year, while others are closer. While CNY has always been a fun period which I enjoyed more as a child – collecting red packets (who doesn’t like having more money?!) and eating tons of goodies, my perspective of CNY has changed as I grew older.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE CNY and all the gatherings!! Apart from the usual humdrum of asking your age and where you are studying, to the working life and marriage. It gets a little dull whenever relatives start probing about these!
During my first year in Surrey, I felt weird as I did not have to visit any relatives, but it was really nice joining the different nationalities for CNY. I got to experience how other nationalities celebrated and it was certainly educational and eventful! Not forgetting, we had our own hotpot and potluck for celebration as well! It was an improvised version with a large pot and induction cooker! 🙂
This year, I went to London to have CNY eve dinner with my friends, where we had Yúshēng (Prosperity Toss – a mandatory dish that we would have for good fortune). Yúshēng (鱼生) is a chinese word which is usually interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升), which means an increase in abundance. Usually, positive chinese idioms are said during the toss to wish for a better year ahead! Even though school started on the day of CNY, but that did not deter us from our usual celebration! I celebrated the evening with my friends and had tons of fun cooking our own dishes while relaxing in one of our kitchens.
Do not be afraid that you will miss the festive season as London would be having celebrations as well! This year, they will be held in conjunction with Valentines’, 14 February.
This is how it usually looks like in Chinatown, London during CNY! It is usually hyped up with a joyous atmosphere. There are also a lot of choices for chinese food along Bayswater Tube station! Thus, you need not fret about cooking if you’re not a good cook, you can always get sumptuous meals in Guildford or London! 🙂 There are also many recipes found online which are really easy to make as well! So there are a lot of options to welcome the new year!
Hopefully this gives you more insights to how CNY is celebrated over here and eases your worries about missing out the fun element!
Till next time; xx
