Chinese New Year is only three weeks away, on 15th February which happens to be on a Monday. The atmosphere again, is totally unlike those days during the 60's and 70's when there were fire-crackers and smoke from the joss sticks together with the burnt crackers' smell gives you a feeling of a different sort, more like a real Chinese New Year festival period. Back then, roads and pavements were always covered with layers of burnt red fire-crackers' coverings and paper packings, it was definitely very different then. The sight of it all tells you as well as makes you feel the Chinese New Year atmosphere.
This time around, it can never be the same anymore, for instance, Party-goers now wear totally 'BLACK' coloured outfits which is fashionable and stylish and more of a 'disco colour' thing during the festival even donning black and going visiting is just normal and acceptable, but during those days it was the opposite, unthinkable and forbidden simply because 'Black' meant death. Nowadays the celebrations will start with colourful night lightings together with the usual festive sales promotions of goodies and tit bits like in all other festivals, very boring and more commercialised.
To me, the only meaningful and customary behaviour which still remains is that of the Family Re-union Dinners which is still the most important and will always be. More and more people try to avoid visiting relatives by going away on holidays or making excuses, how true, that's what most of us do nowadays.
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