I remember that as children, we often complained about all the cumbersome things we had to do on our parents’ insistence. For example, the many dos and don’ts related to the Chinese New Year and other celebrations. However, as we grow older, we tend to reminisce about our childhood.

Things that we found insignificant when we were young remain in our memories and give us a sense of joy as we remember all the good times we had with our parents or long-lost friends. Recently, a group of mothers and I had a wonderful time comparing notes on how Chinese New Year was spent when we were children. There were fireworks blasting in the kampung, the gathering of the whole village to prepare Chinese New Year goodies and the elaborate meals dished up by our grandmothers. Each of us felt a certain sense of pride now even though it probably was not that exciting then.

This prompted me to map out a list of things that I wanted to inculcate in my four sons. For a start, they can help in the spring-cleaning prior to Chinese New Year, followed by the preparations for the New Year eve dinner. Though my sons are young, ranging in age from one to 14, I know it is never too early to plant in them the seeds of togetherness.

Over a simple home-cooked dinner, I fire their imaginations, challenging them to think of a future when they have their own families. My squabbling second and third sons were amused when I painted a picture of them as grandfathers, having their reunion dinner with the whole clan, and still bickering like they often do now.

Sometimes it is hard to draw the line between tradition and religious practices. For example, I still hold on dearly to the Qing Ming tradition of clearing the graves, sprucing them up with some new paint and spending a morning with the clan to honour our departed ones.

Being a new Christian convert, I had to find an acceptable way to show respect to our ancestors without burning paper paraphernalia and offering food and wine. I hope my children will faithfully hold on to the tradition of honouring their great-grandparents and grandparents every Qing Ming festival. I would very much like to see them going to every one of their ancestors’ graves, clearing them, placing some flowers there and offering a prayer to God.

Though I may not know many Chinese traditions, I shall treasure the ones my parents handed down to me and pass them on to my sons. One festival which I look forward to is the Chinese Winter Solstice or Dong Zhi Festival which falls on Dec 22.

It is a tradition for Chinese families to mark the occasion by making tang yuen or glutinous rice balls which are served in sweet ginger soup. My children enjoy shaping the coloured dough into marble-sized balls. As this festival falls just a few days before Christmas, it offers a unique blend of Chinese culture and our Christian faith. It is a season of togetherness and being with the family.

I hope every family, irrespective of race or religion, will instil a sense of tradition in their children. Children will grow up and leave the home and maybe even the country but these traditions will cement their roots. As Malaysians we have a myriad of traditional practices. Our open house hospitality, for example, is very much a Malaysian thing. Such traditional practices will also benefit our children and help create a harmonious society.
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