I'm in the medical centre at paragon now. Gramps having a surgery on his eye. Small-incision cataract surgery with intra-ocular lens implants for bot pair of eyes to be exact. So i'm in the waiting area/lobby waiting for the surgey to be done. they did asked for us to be here since 2pm (2hours before the surgery) but there wasn't much of a queue so it was basically waiting for the doc to come and now it's the wait for him to be done with the surgery followed by the wait for him to recover where he isn't expected to move about for 1hour or so. Good thing i have my lap top with me. wireless@sg as well. Thumbs up to the internet!
Hm..there's no upcoming events for now except the upcoming Batam trip taking place next weekend on the 2nd 3rd Feb. Apart from that there's nothing much to look forward to, except Chinese New Year which is 2 weeks away. Speaking of New Year, the prelude to the rat year has been somewhat disappointing. I would say, Lunar New Year to us Chinese is akin and similar to what Christmas is to the Europeans, no? In terms of origin, it goes a long long way back into time. Since time memorial, the Chinese have kingdoms taken charge by emperors, who were believed to be descendants of dragons. They have a culture and heritage so rich that they developed a way of keeping track of time. The 15th of every lunar month coincides with a full moon and they have a calender of their own. Being able to keep track of days, and months, it is no surprise that Chinese all around would gather on the eve and celebrate wildly into the wee hours of the New Year, with firecrackers and lion dances no less. In the West, the birth of Jesus gave rise to the English calendar that is globally use by all walks of life. His birth also paved way for a religious group to have a foothold in today's community. As a result of this influence, his birth(and death) is widely celebrated by people all around, particularly in Central Europe. Now comparing the two holidays, they don't differ much do they? Apart from the way both festivals begin with the letter 'C', celebrations are often filled with excitement with fire crackers and fire works bringing the noise decibels up a few notches higher. Both holidays play a part in family bonding and it's common to see families travelling back to have a meal with their families. Blessings and red packets are exchanged as gifts switches hand. Respects are paid to the elderly as it's time for thanksgiving. In a way, both festivals play a similar role to the lives of those who celebrates them.
Basing on these similarities drawn, i think there is a fair basis to compare the two joyous occasions, Chinese New Year and Christmas. But between the way Europeans celebrate their Christmas and the way we have been preparing for the Lunar New Year, then i think that our Western counterparts are more boisterous. While it's unfair to compare the way Singaporeans welcome the New Year as there are many restrictions, i think there are many forms of substitution available. While fire cracks and fire works are controlled items, the government can actually put some budget aside to liven up the atmosphere. Hong Bao River is gone since it has given way to the platform for us to celebrate the nation's birthday, but surely there can be another venue set up for Singaporeans to soak in the atmosphere and help contribute to the economy? Or is finding an alternative venue in land scarce Singapore too much of a challenge? The Indians have Serangoon Road to call their own, the Malays have Geylang Serai to challenge that, surely we Chinese can depend on Chinatown to show them how we celebrate our New Year right? Apparently not. I don't visit Chinatown often, but of the times that I've been there in the past and the lightings that has been set up this year, i don't think there's much of a difference. The presence of Mickey Mouse to symbolise the rat year seems a little weird. Just in case you're wondering where Mickey's home town is, he's from Walt Disney, Hollywood, America. Apart from that, the lightings are lousy, the roads are dimmed. the crowds are missing, the shops are complaining. it's as if CNY is pretty much over and everybody is just continuing their daily lives(and i rot around with Australian Open to preoccupy myself). If i were to compare the prelude of the change of 07-08 in Europe and the upcoming Chinese new year, what a difference it is.
Sure, our population may not match up China's but surely we can do ourselves some justice to match theirs? After all, don't we love being number one in everything? Having the esplanade, the first night safari, the tallest Ferris wheel is one thing. The culture and how we live our lives is another. Once the fascination and curiosity dies out, places of interest are no longer get people back to our country. What can get them back would be the company that they enjoyed, the food that they tasted, and that very party that they would never forget.
Well people, let's see how the build up to our New Year would be. For now, my employment status is still status quo. :)
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