I have survived another Lunar New Year clean and cook fest. While it has been exhausting, it is nice to be able to eat all the special dishes I enjoyed as a child, even if I have to cook them all by myself now.
The LNY brings back vivid memories of my grandmother and all the things she would do during this festive season. I find myself repeating her many rituals more to honour her memory (for they were important to her) than for the usual good luck.
As I cook, I get random memories of times past, when I was her helper, and later my dad's, and these memories are, for me, the highlight of the season for I get to capture the past, for a brief moment, and the mundane task of kitchen prep work is elevated and injected with meaning.
I catch a glimpse of my late grandmother and father, and it is as if I am cooking with them once again. They come alive in the sight, smell, texture and taste of each dish and I get to savour the goodness they put into LNY meals past today as I cook.
To the Chinese, food is important, not just for plain sustenance, but food has healing properties, and it is hugely symbolic of good fortune, prosperity and longevity during the LNY.
In my family, food is all that and more. Food is love, made visible in the painstaking prepwork, to the final culinary creation, and the act of eating together at the table, sampling with pleasure each bite as we share our lives with one another.
There is nothing more important than eating together as a family for that is what binds us and keeps us close. And there is something sacred about honouring tradition, the handing down of family recipes for each new generation to enjoy, as every recipe re-created is a labour of love.
Despite the tiredness and dishpan hands, I am glad I cooked this new year for I got a chance to thank both my grandmother and father for all those wonderful feasts they cooked for me and the rest of the family in the past. They would have lauded my current efforts, even if I lacked their culinary skills.
That the first day of the Lunar New Year fell on a Sunday made it all the more special for the Gospel from Luke 5:1-11 is about putting out into the deep, and catching more than just fish. The call of the first disciples by Jesus; a call that is still relevant today.
It is a call to remember where I come from, to know who I am today and to have the courage to embrace my future as a fisher of men. It is a call that both my maternal and paternal grandparents, and my parents answered. And, it is a call that I choose to answer as well.
Although family tradition may involve time, effort and even sacrifice, it is worthwhile for when it comes to love, there is no price too high to pay. Jesus Himself showed us that by becoming bread and wine for us all in the sacrifice of His own body and blood, a feast we partake of in the Eucharistic celebration every time.
I am grateful for the opportunity to uphold family tradition this year as I give thanks that it is but once a year.
The LNY brings back vivid memories of my grandmother and all the things she would do during this festive season. I find myself repeating her many rituals more to honour her memory (for they were important to her) than for the usual good luck.
As I cook, I get random memories of times past, when I was her helper, and later my dad's, and these memories are, for me, the highlight of the season for I get to capture the past, for a brief moment, and the mundane task of kitchen prep work is elevated and injected with meaning.
I catch a glimpse of my late grandmother and father, and it is as if I am cooking with them once again. They come alive in the sight, smell, texture and taste of each dish and I get to savour the goodness they put into LNY meals past today as I cook.To the Chinese, food is important, not just for plain sustenance, but food has healing properties, and it is hugely symbolic of good fortune, prosperity and longevity during the LNY.
In my family, food is all that and more. Food is love, made visible in the painstaking prepwork, to the final culinary creation, and the act of eating together at the table, sampling with pleasure each bite as we share our lives with one another.
There is nothing more important than eating together as a family for that is what binds us and keeps us close. And there is something sacred about honouring tradition, the handing down of family recipes for each new generation to enjoy, as every recipe re-created is a labour of love.
Despite the tiredness and dishpan hands, I am glad I cooked this new year for I got a chance to thank both my grandmother and father for all those wonderful feasts they cooked for me and the rest of the family in the past. They would have lauded my current efforts, even if I lacked their culinary skills.
That the first day of the Lunar New Year fell on a Sunday made it all the more special for the Gospel from Luke 5:1-11 is about putting out into the deep, and catching more than just fish. The call of the first disciples by Jesus; a call that is still relevant today.
It is a call to remember where I come from, to know who I am today and to have the courage to embrace my future as a fisher of men. It is a call that both my maternal and paternal grandparents, and my parents answered. And, it is a call that I choose to answer as well.
Although family tradition may involve time, effort and even sacrifice, it is worthwhile for when it comes to love, there is no price too high to pay. Jesus Himself showed us that by becoming bread and wine for us all in the sacrifice of His own body and blood, a feast we partake of in the Eucharistic celebration every time.
I am grateful for the opportunity to uphold family tradition this year as I give thanks that it is but once a year.
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