Eve of the Lunar New Year: Prayers & Reunion Feast

It’s the prelude to the Reunion feast. Offerings are made to our beloved departed family members before we sit down to our reunion dinner.

In the main part of my brother’s house is the paternal family ancestral tablet. Here a table is set up with assorted food and fruit, including tiny cups of brandy.



In the back portion of the house a smaller table is set up to offer prayers to our late maternal grandparents.




Joss paper is folded into fans and gold ingots and sets of paper clothing, shoes and monetary notes of large denominations are readied to be burnt as offerings at the end of the prayers.






The oldest male in the family, i.e. my younger brother, has to invite the deity guarding the main door to bring in the spirits of our departed family members to enjoy the feast that has been laid out for them. Then every member in the family will pray and welcome them and also ask for blessings for our families for the incoming Year of the Tiger.

The same is done at the back portion of the house where our deceased maternal grandparents are invited to partake of the feast laid out for them and we offer our prayers and ask for blessings. Here a couple of lighted cigarettes are also offered as our grandpa was a smoker.

After an appropriate lapse of time, my brother would then say a prayer and toss two coins into the air. If they land with one coin showing heads and the other tails, this indicates that our dearly departed are done and we can burn the joss papers and paper offerings.

For this purpose a large wok or basin is brought into the garden where we will burn these things.



When all have been burnt, my brother will pour all the cups of brandy , circling the wok as he pours. This is to ensure that the offerings will not be hijacked by other spirits who may be hovering around who have not been accorded the respects and prayers



According to our elders, the higher the ashes fly, the better it will be for us as this signifies that the departed are happy and will bless us.



There is a short respite before we sit down to our dinner. There is the "yee sang" where we use chopsticks to lift the contents of the dish which consists of different finely grated vegetables, crackers, raw salmon, dressings, peanut, sesame seeds, etc. This is the dish of prosperity.



The higher you lift the ingredients,to utterances of "lo hei", the better your luck will be for the new year.



Since the younger generation like sushi we added it in this year.






The young children had a good time playing and it was a great joy to see them growing.
The youngest who is a few month old baby has also grown and his bright eyes were moving everywhere taking in the activities. After wishing each other gong xi fa cai we returned to our respective homes.

Tomorrow my siblings and their families will visit me to pay their respects to the eldest in the family and I look forward to this. The children and the singles will receive their ang pows and there will be an exchange of gifts.