I didn't go home for the Chinese New Year this year. This is the fourth Chinese New Year I have spent in a foreign country - there is no need to feel sorry for me, this is also the first time I have taken my parents abroad for the Chinese New Year.
After graduating from graduate school, I worked abroad for many years. The entry and exit quarantine policy during the new crown epidemic, combined with the heavy work pressure, made it difficult for me to return home for 3 consecutive years. It wasn't until the Spring Festival of 2023 that I finally returned to my hometown in Northeast China after a long absence, and once again touched the unforgettable white mountains and black waters. In my memory, the Spring Festival in my hometown is very festive, but it is always very cold, especially last year. After the death of my grandparents, the connection between my parents and relatives back home was no longer as close as before, and my father's leg and foot joints were getting worse and worse, so I came up with the idea of inviting them to go abroad and spend the year on a trip.
Since I was a child, my parents have only traveled abroad 3 times, one of which was to send me to study abroad, and once to visit me after I work, plus a super discounted and inexperienced Japan and South Korea tour group. This made me, a son who had been taken care of by them and therefore had the opportunity to build a career abroad, somewhat ashamed. At the beginning of the new year, I happened to see the news that Thailand and Singapore were visa-free for Chinese tourists, so I hurriedly opened the tour**, made an extremely detailed Spring Festival travel strategy that was enough to satisfy the parents of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and then told them my thoughts.
Convincing parents is not an easy task, especially in the traditional event of the Spring Festival. What I didn't expect was that my uncle and aunt in my hometown turned out to be my biggest "assist" force. I posted the idea of taking my parents abroad for the New Year in the family group, originally to express my embarrassment to the elders, but the uncle and aunt, as the elder brother and sister of my parents, not only fully supported my plan, so that my parents could rest assured that they would go with me, and they did not have to return to their hometown this year, but also praised me as a model filial son, which made me blush. I think their thoughts are probably the same as mine—after so many years of hard work, it's time for them to enjoy their happiness.
On February 9, the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, which was also the first day of visa-free travel for China in Singapore, I departed from my place of work and my parents departed from Beijing, and each flew to Changi Airport. As soon as we met, my mother called me by my nickname and gave me a big hug, and my father was dressed a hundred times more casual than usual, standing aside and laughing. On the plane, I was afraid that as soon as they met, they would say that I was ignorant, a waste of money, and did not remember my relatives back home, so I had a faint stomach ache. But in the moment of meeting, these worries disappeared along with physical discomfort.
Singapore is mainly a Chinese society, and the atmosphere of the Spring Festival is not much worse than that in China. In the streets and alleys, inside and outside the shopping mall, you can see all kinds of gorgeous dragon lanterns within a few steps, and red lanterns and blessing characters can be seen everywhere. But beyond the similarities, the differences between Singapore and China are also clear – most notably the much warmer weather. That night, I took my parents to a seafood-based Singaporean-style Chinese New Year's Eve dinner – and it turns out that even without sauerkraut sausage and pork stewed vermicelli, Dad's appetite for Chinese New Year's Eve would be good.
After dinner, Dad wanted to go to the Spring Festival Gala, and Mom wanted to walk around the city more, so we left Dad at the hotel and strolled through Marina Bay. During the chat, my mother wanted to urge the marriage for a while, but before I could reply, she changed her words to express her full respect for my girlfriend and me's ideas, and said that if we want to have a wedding abroad, she will buy wedding room decorations online in China and bring them over, which is so cheap that I can't help laughing. I remember that in previous years, when I was celebrating the Chinese New Year in my hometown, my mother basically had to work in the kitchen all night until the dumplings were served at 12 o'clock in the evening, so how could I have time to have such a mother-son conversation?
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, our group moved to Bangkok. If Singapore is just a change of place for the Spring Festival, Thailand is truly full of "exoticism". The street food near the Grand Palace choked my father with spicy enough, but he didn't admit that he was afraid of spicy, saying that he had a bad voice recently. Mom likes the zoo the most, saying that she has never seen so many elephants, zebras, and giraffes in her life. During the tour, my father suddenly asked: Does the Internet say that Southeast Asian tourism is dangerous? My mother glanced at me and said, "I'm here, I'm afraid it's too late to be sold." The laughter of our family of three made the already warm air even more cheerful.
Because I work abroad, there is no public holiday during the Spring Festival, and I have to take annual leave, so I can only play with my parents until the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. When we parted, I couldn't wait for a longer journey. This Spring Festival may not be so typical, but it makes me feel particularly meaningful - I think it is unique not only because we are celebrating the New Year abroad, but also because it is the first time that I have given more than I have asked for my parents as a younger generation. As we get older, we seem to drift away from our parents, and they often don't want much from us. However, the connection of family makes me want to do something from the bottom of my heart, and this is a source of happiness.
*: China Youth Daily.