Year of The Snake 2013

Baby L and his first encounter with 'ang pows' aka red packets

It's the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, and this is quite possibly the first time in my life I've felt so far from the festivities. In fact, if my parents weren't in town we probably wouldn't have known it was Chinese New Year at all! Okay, I'm exaggerating. Just a little.

But it's true that here in Karlsruhe, the celebration is pretty much nonexistent, with Fasching/Karneval taking center stage at the moment as children get dressed up in costumes for parties and people get ready for parades and events held through the city. (For those not in the know, Fasching/Karneval are pre-Lenten festivities celebrated in the predominantly Catholic regions of German-speaking countries. Here are some further info if you're interested.)

Anyway, I always miss Malaysia at this time of year. Even though it hasn't really been my home for the last ten years, I do have about 18 years of early, wonderful memories at this time. And it's a special time. I miss the visiting of friends and family, the special Chinese New Year goodies prepared only during the season, the 'yee sang' tossed and wished upon, the red, festive, decorations everywhere you look, the new outfits you get to wear for the first few days, and when I was younger, competing with my cousins to see how many 'ang pows' we'd have collected by the end of the 15-day celebration. 

In Auckland there was a big enough Chinese community that the city even staged events like Dragon dances and Chinese food festivals, so you never felt too isolated or far away from home. And as a student in Michigan, I spent Chinese New Year with a large group of other Malaysian students and we all cooked and feasted and kept each other company during the period, so I never felt like I was missing out.

But this year, here in Karlsruhe, it's a little different. The Chinese community here is very small, and the Malaysian, practically nonexistent. Nevertheless, we wanted to celebrate somehow and for our reunion dinner (an important part of the celebration held on the eve of Chinese New Year, where the family gathers and share a large meal), we tried to look for special menus at local Asian restaurants in the city to no avail. 

Instead we headed to 5 Sterne China Restaurant on New Year's Eve - a Chinese restaurant close to us that The Husband and I have dined at a couple of times that we know at least serves authentic Chinese cuisine. There, I shared a delicious meal with my family complete with steamed fish, tofu, crispy duck, fresh prawns and delicious vegetables, and we celebrated being together. 

And in lieu of dressing up in new clothes, visiting friends and families, and open homes, we spent the first three days of the lunar calendar walking in the snow in Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden, soaking in the beautiful winter sights, and also took my parents to Heidelberg for a day and witnessed some pre-Karneval events in front of the city council.

Pre-Karneval events in Heidelberg

My lovely parents had also filled their suitcases with plenty of Chinese New Year cookies and treats for us when they arrived last week, so I've been happily munching on my share of pineapple tarts and prawn crackers. They also brought empty red packets for us to fill up with money for Liam, AND they bought Liam a traditional Chinese outfit, which was a little big for him, but we managed to dress him up in it for about five minutes to take some pictures for posterity. He was however far more entranced with the red packets that were presented to him - though I suspect not for the money it contained - his face lighting up with joy at the possibility of something new to chew on.

I certainly miss the festivities back home, and it's been so good to have The Parents around at this time at the very least. It can be hard to stay true to your culture being so far away from family, especially when no one else shares the same traditions as you, but at least we try, we try. Liam is still half Chinese after all, and I'd hate for him to grow up without being able to pass to him some part of my own history and traditions.

Anyway, to all my family and friends out there, a very Happy Chinese New Year to all of you and may the Year of the Snake be a joyous, healthy and prosperous one! Gong Xi Fa Cai!