Chinese New Year in Taiwan is a special time when families get together and
have conversationswatch TV. People enjoy givingcarefully selected gifts that they know the recipient will lovecash in red envelopes. And watching TV.Food plays an important part, also. The tables are set with
grandma’s best lace tableclothplastic sheeting, and thegood silverware, china and crystalplastic cups, pink paper plates and disposable chopsticks are laid out on acandlelittable lit by the unsteady glare of a flickering fluorescent tube.The
roast turkey is taken out of the ovendishes of food are covered in saran wrap, nuked in the microwave, and left to cool on the table hours before dinner. Because this is CNY, while eating, people areon their best behaviourwatching TV, grunting and reaching across the table to get desired morsels of food. Children under the age of 12remember to say please and thank youare hand-fed by their over-indulgent mothers, and peopletake extra care to remember their table mannersspit out chicken bones and shrimp shells intocrystal bowlslittle paper boxes made of folded up junk mailers.After dinner, the family sits in the living room and
talkswatches TV some more. At night, people like to go outside andgo caroling, sharing the joy and beauty of the seasonlight fireworks on the city streets, the noiser the better.After that people go back home and watch more TV.
Over here (and go like the original! A year or two I got more likes for quoting it than Duke ever did for writing it, which just seems wrong!):
Chinese New Year in Taiwan is a special time when families get together and have conversations watch TV. People enjoy giving carefully selected gifts that they know the recipient will love cash in red envelopes. And watching TV. Food plays an important part, also. The tables are set with grandma’s best lace tablecloth plastic sheeting, and the good silverware, china and crystal plastic cups, pink paper plates and disposable chopsticks are laid out on a candlelit table lit by the unsteady gla…