The Chinese New Year holiday has just got underway, and the signs
of build-up have been everywhere. Three
things have stood out as markers that this festive time is nearly upon us.
1 – music I can only describe as very Chinese has been EVERYWHERE at all times. You know the sort of
music I mean – the type that they play in films or on TV over a cityscape or
bustling crowds all wearing conical straw hats, just so we’re all definitely clear
that we’re in China? That 5 seconds? That. That sort of music. In the bus, in
all shops, shopping centres, the radio, TV, social media…if you don’t know what
I mean, take a look at this New Year message from the UK’s Consul-General: that sort of music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU_AAI4cYyo
2 – terrible animal-based puns. Everyone talks and writes
about the year of the snake slithering off, and the Year of Horse galloping in.
Endless trotting out of horse-based banter at every opportunity. I’ll not
dressage it up for you: usually I’m no neighsayer to a terrible pun, but some
of the textual horseplay in the papers has really taken the (sea)biscuit.
3 – The looming prospect of lai see. This is our our first experience of trying to negotiate
this tradition. For those reading in HK – I’m sure you have read plenty of
funny commentary about this in actual newspapers and such, so apologies. For
those reading in the UK, let me try to explain.
Over the week of Chinese New Year, everyone puts bank notes
[very crisp, entirely unwrinkled ones, usually ordered from the bank for this
purpose] into little red envelopes, and then give them out.
There is a terribly
complex system and social ettiquette attached. You’re meant to give it to:
anyone
who works for you; anyone who provides you services regularly; anyone
you know well who isn’t married if you yourself are married; children you know
fairly well. And the amount should
vary depending on how much you value that person. Got it? If not, this helpful
flow chart should explain… https://plus.google.com/+PaulFoxFoxlore/posts/RxGTENubiJc
It’s a bit like that UK comedy sketch where the three men of
different classes all stand next to each in height order, and explain who they
look down on and up to, and why: lai see seems
to lay out very clearly who stands where in the pecking order. Basically, as
married people with good jobs, we’re stuffed.
So it’s a bit of minefield. We don’t want to get taken for
mugs, but we don’t want to be mean either. And so the other night, we planned
our lai see carefully. We stuffed 60 packets with $20 up to $100, and tried to
rehearse who they go to…
“OK, so – smiley security man; quiet security man; grumpy
security man we don’t like but have to give him lai see anyway; security man
who is a woman…check. Lady who cleans my office; unmarried colleagues one, two
and three; lady who works for me; lady who works for me’s kids…oh God, what
about HR lady who sometimes helps me out at work who isn’t married, but doesn’t
work for me or on the same floor? Do we give her one? Oh bugger, I don’t know, let’s start again…”
We’re about to go out into the world with our
