Gong Xi Fa Cai!

This post is a bit late but nah..not really as Chinese are still celebrating the spring festival so this post is still on.


Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin) or Kung Hei Fa Choi (Cantonese) everyone. I hope the Year of the Ox will bring this humanity to a higher level of fellowship, stewardship and diplomacy for harmony and peaceful co-existence.

The eve of the Chinese New Year was cold, gray, gloomy and drizzling. But this did not deter people to prepare for the Chinese New Year. It is the most awaited and significant celebration in China – ‘the spring festival’. I was up early and went to my favorite noodle place. Surprisingly, it’s ‘business-as-usual’ for banks as they were open till the wee hours.

This weeklong holiday is a big respite from the piles of paper works to finish and deadlines to beat. I earlier planned to spend my holiday with other volunteers in Kunming (capital city of Yunnan Province) but call it off at the last minute. However, the festive mood was contagious, forced my brain to work but refuses to cooperate – damn!

The sleepy town of Longchuan was suddenly transformed into a busy festive town. I was extremely happy to see the town so alive, vibrant and populated with people from nowhere. Fireworks and firecrackers were endless and deafening but definitely overwhelming to see people ecstatic as they welcome the year of the Ox. The once deserted streets of Longchuan were now filled with bazaar, carnival and amusement games for kids and adult alike.

Dinner invites in conflict?…

I really find it funny that my being alone (that means without my translator) did not exempt me from attending to my social obligations as a human being (LOL). The only reason that I would tend to decline an invite is the 50 - 52% proof rice wine (bai jiu). There’s just no way I can go away with it as this is part of the social norm. A toast (bottoms-up) is a sign of respect, gratitude and camaraderie. It’s quite hierarchical though. The big leader or Boss usually goes first giving his/her wishes and good words to everyone. Everyone follows to whomever they want to make a toast. More often than not, I am drunk every after gathering simple or grand.

So the invites kept coming on the eve. The first invite came from my ‘landlady’ and mind you the invite has to go to a friend in another province through a text message and then it went to my former translator to another province and then my translator called me up. Whew! I was just touched by their gesture as they went through those hassles just to invite me for dinner. Imagine for the very first time, the invites were in conflict (LOL). All is well that ends well. I attended first the invite of my boss and then spent the whole evening until New Year with my neighbor and his family living just 1 level down to where I live. The next day I spent with the family of my ‘landlady’ for breakfast and dinner. I really find the Chinese people so warm and hospitable. Quite contrary to the impressions I had with the Chinese back home (please don’t take that against me). I have been here for almost 2 years but their warmth has never died down.

The essence of Chinese new year – to my eyes…

This is my second year in China and I did not realize till now that there is so much essence in celebrating the Chinese New Year much as Filipinos have for Christmas. It’s about family bonding and unity that I learned. I saw this in the family of my boss. Love and unity was radiating as we shared the meals. I was the only visitor. The husband of my boss and even the wife of her brother were not around as they were also on their individual families. So it was just pure family dinner with my boss’ 5-year old niece whose antics never ceases to amaze me whenever I see her.

Before dinnertime, the family offered the ‘Buddha’ at the altar with fruits, wine, cigarette, desserts and food. The ritual followed. The head of the family (the father) offered the paper money and burned it in front of the altar. Incense was burned right after which the mother (light of the family) lit and then each member of the family offered prayers to Buddha. Judas belt (firecracker) provided the rapid fire sound (thanks rein for the term hahaha) supposedly to drive away evil spirits lurking around. What really struck me that evening was when the 5-year old kid stood up and made a toast first to the grandfather with a red wine. It struck me because at her age she already can drink red wine. She went on and I thought she think and talk like an adult as she told her grandmother and I quote “Xiexie ni Năinai…Ni Xin Ku le”! (thank you grandma…you are working so hard) and that line brought the house down.

No one was translating for me that time but my visual understanding of things as they unfold before my very eyes says that their spirituality is so alive. They do have their God – it might not just be the same God that Catholics or other dinominations pray with but they do have God. I believe that what is most important is that we are in tune with and in harmony with our own spirituality rather than measuring it how many times one has been to the church, etc. Indeed, living overseas helps one understand better the culture of the country. I thought this is rightly where global education is needed so that we developed global citizens who are respectful and tolerant of each others’ culture.