It’s Chinese New Year again. Year after year, we think it’s all the same… The fact that we go back to our hometown every year to see our grandparents and relatives makes it all feel so common and repetitive. We would like to think that the tradition is not broken; family reunion dinner the night before the first day of CNY, visiting the relatives’ houses and eating lontong and chicken puff the next day, and lau yee sang the day after. My family would usually then head to KL or Setiawan to visit my mom-side grandparents and relatives.
Unfortunately for our lack of realization, the generations are changing. Those who were once running around in my grandparents’ kampung are all grown up and those who weren’t around in the yesteryears are big enough to talk back at us. Because, as we already know it, we’ll keep growing and changing as long as the world keeps spinning; the same goes to the younger generations. However, even though they get their angpaus and get to go visiting relatives house, they’re not as lucky as we, the “older” generations were.
In Batu Pahat, we used to play Hercules in my cousins’ house =D Games like that are long extinct. We used to visit uncountable number of houses. We flew homemade kites under starry skies. We played with fire crackers all through the night, getting thrills from every explosion and every time we’re given a chance to light the fire cracker, or when we see a Police car driving pass the house. We swung really really high in Aunty Kong’s house and in my cousin’s house. A-Song kor always performed magic tricks to us. We danced and sang karaoke in my cousins’ house!
Now, our niece and nephews are extremely cute, but they are just as naughty. They fight over our toys, and are unable to play Hercules =( Awwww… They only get to visit one or two houses, hence getting really little angpaus =( Awwww… They never got to fly homemade kites as my cousins have stopped making them =( Awwww… They don’t get to play nor watch us play fire crackers =( Awwww… They don’t play with the swings nor get to eat lontong and chicken puffs =( Awwww… Well, they’re probably just toooo young now. But we don’t dance and sing karaoke in the house like we used too =( AWWWW!!!
In Setiawan, we used to play “Lao Ying Zhua Xiao Ji” (Eagle catch chicks?), fight for motorbike rides all over the kampung, kill gigantic red ants on the huge rambutan tree using mosquito coils. We even took killing mosquitoes as a game; the one killing the most mosquitoes obviously wins. We threw stones into my granddad’s fishponds, ran away from snakes and leeches, hogged the tiny aircond by covering ourselves with blankets to block out the cool air from reaching someone else (you have to be there to understand), played with lastics and spinning tops. We dared each other to go to the second floor of my grandparents’ old wooden house, running down just half way through as it was too freaky! We chased chickens and went fishing by the sea. Those were the days when everything was much more simple, when little kids get to enjoy and appreciate the little things in life. Seriously, like killing mosquitoes?!
However, now, I see my little cousins play PSP and fight over computer games. If not with their gadgets of such, our handphones will be with them. They don’t play Lau Ying Zhua Xiao Ji, they don’t play catching-catching, they don’t play blind man’s foe, they don’t play all the simple “ulu” games that are still as awesome as they once were but just less appreciated. They never got to run around the kampung compounds as my grandparents have moved house. They don’t get to get motorbike rides because it is way too hot as the trees are chopped down and there are way too many cars on the road as it was recently widened. They don’t play with lastic, nor do they play with tops. They don’t get to go to my granddad’s pond nor do they see snakes and leeches =( AWWWW… They don’t get to play with red ants and compete in mosquito killing! They don’t pull the wings out of every half-dead mosquito nor do they get to throw salt all over huge, disgusting leeches. They don’t get to hog the super adorable and old-fashion aircon, they don’t get to get creeped out over the second floor of my grandparents’ old wooden house. They don’t get to go fishing or pick lalas.
The generations are seriously changing and I really sympathize with the young ones. Gone are the days when stupid things are done and yet laughed over. My younger cousins are rude and spoilt. They yell “I HATE YOU!” at each other and get angry at the smallest of things. They fight over gadgets and rather stay at home than to go out and play in the kampung. Whatever happened that change these perception on things? Is kampung life really as dull as it sounds to them? Of course not!! Despite using the laptop right now and being a hypocrite, I really wish for all these modern gadgets to be gone as they make the once simple life more complicated and less appreciated. My 8 year old cousin actually enjoys watching Happy Tree Friends!!! Whaddahell?!
Moral of the story: When we have kids of our own, make them realize these little things in life, please? Let them chase around the garden, play with water even when it isn’t raining, play water balloons and bring them on motorbike rides. Let them fly kites and shoot lastics or throw stones and pebbles into ponds. Bring them fishing and make them kill mosquitoes for fun. Don’t bring gadgets into their lives too soon or they’ll never see pass their little definitions of a great and wonderful life. =D
“Happy Tree Friends Happy Tree Friends” -.-
