My Chinese New Year Ang Pow of Immeasurable Worth.

I've had just enough time...   to receive a special ang pow.

60 pupils lined up to show how the character "horse" is written in Mandarin

Quite a number of you like the ang pows that I showed in the last post so I shared a few more varieties with you in this post.

However, my favorite Ang Pow is one that came in rather plain wrapper. But there is something very special about it. Only one person in the world have ever given me such a unique red packet every year and I always look forward to receiving it for I will never know what is the gift I may receive with it. It always come with only RM10 while most of my ang pows are richer, I treasure it more because the riches it bestowed is not the money. 

A cute ang pow with "ears" that the young will love.

It is given by my old Auntie who is a kind hearted soul who spends her own money traveling to and from Myanmar to do charity work and to teach the unprivileged youth. She is spending all her remaining years in the service of others. The world would be a better place if there are more like her.

One of the prettiest ang pow I received that of the family having a reunion dinner.

In her ang pow, along with the $10 note is a card with a different message every time. The message is not pre-selected so we always wonder what we are fated to receive. The one I received this year is – “Let go of all worries, only then will you appreciate the happiness of a compassionate heart.”

The card with a message slipped into the ang pow from my auntie.

“How appropriate”, I thought. I had been working on “letting go” the last couple of years. Only then, I believe will I be able to accept the reality of the situation that it is beyond me to bring about the changes that I would like to see. And if I persist, I will not only make myself unhappy. So first, I have to let go. Next is to adjust my life to accommodate “letting go”. Letting go of intention, letting go of bitterness, letting go of the past life and starting in a new direction. Even letting go of compassion for you cannot force compassion on others. When your gift is not wanted, it is of no use whatever your intention. So this year’s “gift” is especially valuable to me as a reminder of the path I have to take. And it comes in a little ang pow of immeasurable worth.

A cheerful ang pow showing a lion dance.

Galloping into the Year of the Horse.

I've had just enough time...   to gallop like a horse.

This is the Year of the Horse - galloping free!

This is the Year of the Wood Horse. Full of energy and high potential for conflicts. Here is wishing all of my friends and readers a vibrant year of galloping into good fortune and galloping away from troubles. 

Embossed red on gold ang pow 

Here are some of the “Ang Pow” I received this year. “Ang Pow” meant “red packet” in the Hokkien, one of the Chinese dialect. It is the tradition of the Chinese to give out red packet containing money during the Chinese New Year. It is given by the elders to unmarried relatives or visitors (whether those who visit you or whom you visit) during the New Year. Tough luck if you are married for you are now considered an adult. You can only receive from your parents or bosses but these are considered as “start work” ang pow for a good business start. 

A brightly coloured family coloured theme.

But if you are unmarried, you are still considered a child and thus eligible for ang pow no matter how old you are! However, I’m not sure if that is considered a blessing or not. You will receive a lot of reminders to get hitched along with the ang pow until you are sick of hearing it. On the other hand, as an encouragement, your children are eligible for ang pows so go forth and be bountiful so you can have bountiful harvest of ang pows too!

In the old days, all ang pows are red in colour hence the name. But these days, many of them are beautiful multi-coloured designs with various New Year theme. The Year of the particular animal such as horse this year, auspicious animals or birds, family gathering, lion dances, calligraphy wishes are popular themes. There are even some with the faces of celebrities. In this posts, you get to see some of the ang pows I received this year. “Huat! Ah!” (Prosper! Ah!”)

Wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!

2013 – Taming the Water Snake

I've had just enough time to...   try to tame the Water Snake

 Taken of today's newspaper's front page - "The Snake Year"

The snake year begins today and it is a water snake. Oriental fortune tellers all over the world are debating and forecasting what the Year of the Snake will bring. Let this fortune teller throw his hat in the mix. Before I begin, let me tell you that my prediction last year on the Year of the Dragon was dead wrong. It was one of the most miserable years of my Life while most people were expecting great things just because the picture of the dragon looks majestic. So the hospitals did not have enough beds and there were reports of mothers giving birth on the floor. And 7 years later, the schools will not have enough classrooms. And more planners will die from stress…

The next 3 shots are taken of the first house I visited this CNY.

For this year all the hospitals will lose money and 7 years later the classrooms will be empty just because people don’t like the image of the snake. They tried to “cutify” it by making the snake friendlier without much success because taking off the poisonous fangs is acceptable but eliminating the forked tongue is not. It makes it look like a worm instead. So the toy companies are losing big money during the best season of the year and that brings down the bank because we all know how much bankers like to lend to business of fantasy. And this spirals and slithers down to a recession…

 

And they all blame the poor snake

Even when it bit no one

Nor does it intend to

They just run from it

Or worse

Kill it with flying stones

And a long stick

If you are born with poisonous fangs

You stay hidden in dark places for

No one trusts your heart of gold

Breathe easy. I was wrong in the Year of the Dragon. I will probably be wrong in the Year of the Snake. But adoption of pet snakes had already increased several thousand percents!  I just know it that several years later, it will not be safe to wander anywhere near a monsoon drain but that is another story…

p.s. But I did something different from any other year. Will share this with you in the next post. Wishing all my readers a Happy Chinese New Year and may you find the success and happiness you have been looking for this year in spite of my prediction :)

Myanmar Is Changing!

I've had just enough time to...   see the beginning of Myanmar's transformation.

Taken in a Chinese shop in Yangon's Chinatown, Myanmar.

I found myself in the Chinatown of Yangon, Myanmar recently. While my colleagues were buying casual nuts, I took this shot from inside the shop, through hanging lanterns at the street outside. Chinese New Year was just round the corner. Though this is my first trip to Yangon, I could feel the change in the air. Myanmar is changing and it will never be the same again. 

This is the watershed year for the country. After decades of being trapped in its own time zone, Myanmar is finally opening up to the rest of the world. Democracy will follow soon. Business men already smelling profits are descending into the capital by the plane load. 

With the change, more freedom and progress will follow. But not all will be good. Some will find it hard to adjust to the change. The oppressors of the country will probably be the greatest beneficiaries. It must be hard for Aung San Suu kyi. Going after the perpetrator will plunged the country into a crisis, compromising for the sake of the people will let them get away scot free. Because she cared more for the living than the dead, she has only one option really. So the past must be buried for the future to have a chance. But the injustice of it all is quite difficult to swallow. The alternative is worse. 

If you can, visit Myanmar now. In ten years, it will change beyond recognition. Though it is all for progress and a brighter future, it is still kind of sad to see some old ways of Life changed and the country losing some of its charm and unique personality. Happy New Year Myanmar. May this be a happy new beginning for you.