Crimson canopy More than 10,000 brightly lit red lanterns strung across the 3.5km Jalan raja uda in Butterworth, Penang, for Chinese new year. Believed to be the country’s largest and longest stretch of red lanterns, the annual practice has been ongoing for years to bring cheer to folks in the area during the festive period, all thanks to private contributions. The lanterns, which are lit in the evenings, will stay on until mid- February. — LIM BenG TaTT/The star ( January 13, 2025 ) — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Chinese New Year (CNY) is a time of joy, reunions and delicious feasts, but for some young adults, it also brings unwelcome questions and comments from relatives.
Several people in their late 20s shared their thoughts on how these interactions can sometimes mar the festive mood.
Graphic designer Chan Weng Yan said she looks forward to family gatherings, receiving ang pow and indulging in unlimited food and drinks during CNY.
“It’s also fun to hang out with friends and dress up in pretty clothes,” she said.
However, not all conversations are enjoyable.
“I don’t like being asked about my salary or whether my boss has given me a raise,” said the 24-year-old, who typically laughs off such enquiries and ignores them.
“I understand that my relatives might want to hear good news from me, but I would prefer to listen to family stories,” she said, adding that engaging in light-hearted conversations fosters connection.
Admin executive Janet Ng Kar Kee echoed her sentiment about the joys and challenges of the CNY season.
“I look forward to reuniting with family and friends and having an excuse to enjoy food, drinks, and fun,” she said.
The 26-year-old said she dislikes being questioned about her life plans or appearance by relatives.
“They tend to use the opportunity to criticise you and try to push you onto the path they think is right. For example, they would question me, asking why I’m so skinny, saying it looks ugly to be too thin and that I should eat more,” she said.
Ng said she would only take the comments as advice if they made sense.
“Also, I think some relatives have unrealistic expectations of the younger generation nowadays. When it comes to careers, they expect us to be making lots of money and buying expensive things for our parents,” she added.
Ng prefers casual and cheerful interactions, especially small talk and chatting about daily life during festive gatherings.
“I just don’t like it when people insist on asking too much, criticising and trying to dictate my choices,” she said, highlighting that the focus of CNY lies in family togetherness.
Wong Choi Nee, 29, said festive interactions always involve some personal questions that touch on private matters.
“Some relatives will question me about my relationship and salary. These are private topics for me, so I don’t like to share them with others,” she said.
The data processing specialist said that she will still react when family or relatives bring up uncomfortable topics as she understands they just want updates from her.
“I will respond to their topics, but I rarely want to answer them honestly,” she added.
Wong said she would prefer to talk about life updates from the past year during these gatherings.
While many young adults dread the constant flow of personal questions during CNY, a 30-year-old encounters more laidback interactions with relatives.
Wanting to be known only as Daniel, he said the conversations during the CNY season with his relatives are centred on sharing good news.
“I think I’m lucky because my family or relatives will only care about me instead of constantly bombarding me with personal enquiries. Any topic, like sharing good news or positive things that have happened to us, is usually the focus of our conversations,” said the IT senior executive.