Before every new year, all families clean up their houses from living room to their storeroom to get a 'new year' feeling in their house. As they clean every corner of the house, the start of buying new year's cookies and snacks comes into picture too where you'll see red-cover containers filled with Chinese New Year cookies all being set up on the living room table waiting to be eaten by us sweet tooth. From the sweetest peanut cookies to the most delicious pineapple tarts you've ever tasted; they are what we call the sweetest temptations during Lunar New Year. ;)
Every New Year, everyone including myself wants to start anew with our own lives and forget about the past. But we clearly all know that the past we have in our memories will not vanish the way we want to, it'll only remain in our memories as it can only fade year after year until we truly forgotten about it and have no remaining scenes playing in our memory lane. Fortunately, we still can start fresh like those freshmen who starts their first day of school (just a comparison). Everyone, young and old has the rights to press the restart button inside of them and live a new life full of what they hoped for; from being more faithful to God to gaining more motivation to start their studies and get good grades or even just start taking up a new hobby one have always wanted to.
The moment when you really experience yourself the gathering of your family members and relatives from the east to the west or from the north to the south, you'll realize its one of the most lively and the warmest gatherings you'll ever attend in your life. Every year just once, you'll see yourself facing the camera lens to have your picture taken with a bunch of relatives you've known for life and maybe sometime not closed but became closer after a meal or tea and that's when you'll realize that you're blessed by God with so many awesome wonderful relatives who are always attentive to you, blessed with an awesome scrumptious meal and being able to sit in a table full of your cousins that you may share your uni life with instead of sharing it to your siblings and parents.
I do hope that the warmth and happiness I've felt will be felt by all readers who are reading it until the end. Wherever you are, I do hope you'll feel as warm as I am during this Chinese New Year. May the Lord bless you with his wonderful praises and creations for you, your family and your friends. ;)
Sincerely, Shannon.