It’s Chinese New Year Eve 年三十, and time for our annual ritual of going back to our village in Sha Tau Kok to pay respects to my ancestors, clean our old houses, and put up the door gods, and give offerings and blessings. I wrote this before but here’s a reminder.... Door gods 門神 are a common image for all old villages, where their spirits are said to guard against evil entering the homes. Legend has it that two loyal generals who guarded the imperial palace were recognized for their hard work and loyalty by the emperor who ordered their images to be placed on the palace entrance. Over several dynasties the mortal identity of the gods changed but the meaning has stayed the same. Couplets (對聯 in Cantonese, 門對 in Hakka) are structured poetic sayings, concise with deep meaning, placed as two vertical scrolls on either side of the door in specific order, conveying best wishes while describing the bustling festive atmosphere, and one horizontal scroll at the top with an auspicious blessing. This year Brendan and Ryan are old enough to take part in some of the rituals and we will certainly try to pass our centuries old family traditions to them so they can also hand down to our future generations. Hakka tradition and culture is slowly disappearing and I do hope we can stem the flow. They say UK Hakka people are particularly traditional, as many of our parents left village life to come to UK as teenagers. Our way of life still burns strongly with that generation, and in fact many of my UK peers continue our parents Hakka traditions and deeply respect our culture. We are fiercely protective and proud of our heritage and I hope we can all do our little bit to preserve what we still have 😊 PS - Brendan even spoke a bit of Hakka to the villagers who expressed their surprise and delight. I think he enjoyed that 😊 Mui Ngen Jon Chun Tiap Moon Doi, Moon Sin, Bie Joo Sen, Sow Yee Jee, Jon Chung Nga Diu Hak Ga Ngin Moon Fa Chap Chook. #hakka #village #culture #chinesenewyear #恭喜發財 #CNY #hongkong #chinesetradition #couplets #doorgods

Happy Chinese New Year! 恭喜發財! Every year on CNY eve 年三十, we will go back to our village in Sha Tau Kok to pay respects to my ancestors, clean the old houses, and put up images of the door gods, offerings and blessings on the entrance of our homes. The door gods 門神 are a common image for all villages, where their spirits are said to guard against evil entering the homes. Legend has it that two loyal generals who guarded the imperial palace were recognized for their hard work and loyalty by the emperor who ordered their images to be placed on the palace entrance. Over several dynasties the mortal identity of the gods changed but the meaning has stayed the same. Couplets (對聯 in Cantonese, 門對 in Hakka) are structured poetic sayings, concise and deep meaning, placed as two vertical scrolls on either side of the door, conveying people’s best wishes while describing the bustling festival atmosphere, and one horizontal scroll at the top with an auspicious blessing. Red is a powerful colour, symbolising fire, which in legend, along with noisy firecrackers, helped to scare away the terrifying monster Nian 年, which came every year to terrorise villagers, that is why in Chinese we say “過年” which implies getting through to the next year. CNY is full of tradition and customs - gatherings, red pockets, food - impossible to mention them all here, but most importantly it has evolved into being about family and friends. I hope that this great meaning continues and help us stay close and connected with each other. With so many Chinese communities across the world, please list an example of CNY custom you have that you can share with us! #chinesenewyear #恭喜發財 #gongheifatchoi #CNY #hongkong #chinesetradition #custom #hakka #couplets #doorgods