Year of the Horse

By Guest Blogger Sheldon LeonG

Growing up in Malaysia, our family celebrated Chinese New Year by hosting and visiting relatives and friends throughout the 15-days of festivities. One of the many highlights was the family reunion dinner on New Year’s eve. I still remember all my cousins gathering at one of my aunt and uncle’s house, enjoying a big feast, playing games, setting off firecrackers and receiving ‘hoong pau’ (red packets filled with money typically given by elders or married relatives to younger family members to spread blessings). 

​Leading up to each New Year, parents will buy some new clothes for their children and families would spend time cleaning the house to wash away bad luck and put up decorations such as red lanterns to help welcome the New Year. My sisters and I would help with baking treats such as pineapple tarts and ‘kuih kapit’ (in English, we called them love letters – a traditional thin and crispy egg wafers cooked over hot coals using a clamped iron mold). I have burned my fingers many times making them, but they are so worth it! I may or may not have left some molds a bit longer in the fire so that they get a bit burnt. Why, you ask? Because these would be deemed unsuitable to share with relatives and friends and we would have no choice but to eat them ourselves! 

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​Throughout the community, people of all cultures would often greet each other by saying ‘Kung Hey Fatt Choy’ (wishing you a prosperous New Year) and ‘San Nin Fai Lok’ (Happy New Year) while participating in the variety of festivals and events, usually highlighted by lion dances. It is not uncommon for our family to host Muslim, Indian and Christian friends to help welcome the New Year. I would often call my parents’ friends aunts and uncles as we saw them as part of our extended family.

In Canada, I try to replicate as many of the rituals and activities as I can, so that I remain connected to my Chinese Malaysian heritage but also to share with my daughter the traditions that I grew up with. We clean and decorate the house, host family and friends, enjoy ‘yee sang’, give ‘hoong pau’ and occasionally partake in a lion dance performance. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I get to enjoy some store bought ‘kuih kapit’, which brings me back to my childhood. 

From my family to yours, we wish you ‘San Nin Fai Lok’ and ‘Kung Hey Fatt Choy’. May the Year of the Horse bring joy and peace to you and your family.

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