Chinese New Year, Spurge or celebrate simple??

Chinese New Year is just around the corner. I see colourful decorations up for sale along the streets, but it is marked with an unusual lack of activities.Everyone is apprehensive. people are staying away from the shops, at least for now.When it is closer to the festive, perhaps, there will be a surge of energy.Prices are up. For the average wage earners -it has risen beyond affordability, especially the festive items. Most of their funds have been used up for children going back to school. A major celebrations like this one,can be quite stressful . Many  have indicated, they will be staying behind close doors. Less visiting, less shopping , less open houses this year. But of course, there are the exceptions, the traditionalist-"die, die" no matter what people-who must celebrate lavishly at all cost.  For those who just cannot cope with the spiralling costs,  Chinese New Year in this year of  price hike, will be just another calender day.

The TV stations have come up with ingenious ways to beat the price hike. Many are preaching less meat, less prawns, less the expensive "cut throat items"-eat more greens. Greens  are just as prosperous with the added plus of health.Most, if not all Chinese are very traditional when it comes to celebrating CNY. There is the Chinese New Year Eve-Reunion Dinner with all the prosperity dishes , the fish, the meat, the prawns, the sea cucumber, fish miew, the wealth sounding greens, all of which are dished out to seduce prosperity and goodness to walk with you for the rest of the year. The belief is, if you eat of these goodies, these goodies lives in you and sustain you throughout the year.

Take the traditional "yee sang". A CNY feast can never be complete without the traditional ushering in of luck, prosperity and success. This year, TV stations have cleverly introduced Maggi Mee to come up with a new prosperity dish. To the Chinese, "mee" -long and unbroken represents longevity. With its ingenious addition to the  Yee Sang ingredients, the Long Lasting Prosperity Dish is created! Still traditional but more symbolically prosperous- easier on the pockets and fills the stomach! And Stomach takes prominence this year. People must have enough to eat and survive despite the price hike.

Many are reverting back to symbolic "ang pow". Friends tell me, ang pows- red packets  too must follow the economy-how thick or thin your wallet is. CNY - is after all a celebrations of family reunion and togetherness-fostering an ethnic identity-the  continuance of community living, not necessarily a show of financial clout. This year, it is certainly a time to conserve and give within the means. What you really have in your pocket is more important than what you want to show others.

Clothes? A "look, see" at the hypermarkets shows a range of not so quality clothes but at much higher prices. For the Chinese, it is a must, to  have  new clothings, to usher in new luck for a new beginning-new year means starting clean and new.  The advice? Just get the basic requirements , no need to spurge, do not go overboard with your spending. After the festive, the prices of these clothings will revert back to normal. You may also find more quality clothings  then. Time enough to pick up and replenish your wardrobe after prices return to sanity.

This year , YT intents to have a simpler reunion dinner- still very traditional but on a simpler scale. We would like to enjoy a stress free new year, without the pains of the aftermath.  Why pay artificial and inflated  prices for the same goods? Spend wisely this Chinese New Year folks, your wealth health depends on it!!