A quiet CNY that brought families closer together

Shirley Heng with her children and grandchildren take a family picture during the Chinese New Year celebration.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 – While the noise and fun of the Chinese New Year lion dances may not have been there as much as they had been during the spring festival celebrations in the years before the last two years of lockdown brought on by Covid-19, many were just happy to be home and celebrating with their families this year.

For Shirley Heng, 61, it was a precious day of celebration with “my awesome families and close relatives” once again after two years of very quiet events.

Shirley, who lives in Puchong, said she was just grateful to God and felt very blessed for being alive, physically capable and healthy, and for the love from her family as she enjoyed this year’s celebration with them.

Yee Sang -the traditional Lunar New Year dish is a feature in most homes during the Chinese New Year. Made of raw and dried vegetables and fish, the dish is tossed together to “welcome prosperity” for the year ahead.

Many who had travelled to their hometowns to celebrate the Chinese New Year also expressed similar sentiments of just being happy to be home with their families after a trying period in the last two years when the Covid-19 pandemic kept most of them home and alone.

For Sheue Lih, the reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year and the first day of the celebration was with her in-laws in Bangsar while the second day saw her travelling back to Ipoh to her parents house with her husband and children.

The family coming together was the most cherished part of the celebration, she said.