skip to main |
skip to sidebar
(Image credit: Rinaz.net)
For example, the traditional Chinese death rite is such that at death, the body is buried and paper models of houses, maids, dvd players, cars and others are burnt so that the deceased would have them for their life in hell. A lot of spirit money (also called Hell money) is burned so that the deceased will have enough to spend in the afterlife. It is believed that hell is a world which parallels the world of the living.
Two festivals, which are synonymous with the practice of veneration of the dead, are Ching Ming and Hungry Ghost Festival. Ching Ming day, which also marks the beginning of spring, is focused on ancestor worship. On this day, family members would visit ancestral graves where special rites are held and offerings are made in honor of ancestors. Such events are related to the Chinese tradition of receiving blessings from previous generations when undertaking a new venture.
Meanwhile, Hungry Ghosts Festival takes place in autumn (15th day of the 7th lunar month). Throughout the 7th lunar month, prayers and offerings of food such as chicken, vegetables, fruits and rice are placed at street corners and roadsides to appease spirits that are set free during this time. The offering is believed to prevent wandering spirits from entering one's home and causing disturbances in the households. In fact, it is also common practice to hold outdoor concerts to entertain these hungry ghosts during this month.
During this month, superstitious Singaporean entrepreneurs would "appease" the spirits in front of their business premises with food, incense joss sticks and the burning of hell money.
Of course, for Chinese who are Christians, many of these rituals and beliefs contradict what we believe about hell and the dead. Hence, it's always a challenge for individual Christians who have family members that subscribe to such traditional notions.
(Image credit: The Star)
Team Malaysia's strongest bet was its badminton men's singles and while we did not achieve the gold we had coveted, we did get the silver. But silver is not good enough... Following is a letter written by a good friend on why that is the case. The letter which was published in The New Straits Times (one of Malaysia's national newspapers) is self-explanatory on our disappointment in our badminton "hero," Lee Chong Wei:
Like many other Malaysians, I was hoping that Lee Chong Wei will be able to perform to his ability and bring home the elusive Olympics gold. After all, he has provided us with many reasons to believe he can do it (from previous results) while we Malaysians pour out our endless emotional and financial (yup, we pay our taxes don't we) support to him. His only setback would be lack of mental toughness but wait...I believe that weakness have been identified and overcame. Remember? Lee entered the 2006 World Championship as the world ranked number one and as the top seeded player. In the 2006 World Championships, he lost to Bao Chunlai of China in the quarterfinal despite dominating the first game. Prior to losing this match to Bao, their head to head meetings record stood at 8-0 in favour of Lee. After the shocking loss, Lee suffered many more defeats with dismal performances which resulted in the end of his reign as world no.1.
In the Indonesian Open 2007, the old Lee Chong Wei reappeared by winning the title and beating Bao Chunlai in the final. After that, his fine form continued until the 2007 World Badminton Championships in Kuala Lumpur. Yes, again Lee suffered a shocking defeat in the last 16 to Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia and blamed the defeat on us Malaysians who supported him. Lee blamed us for putting too much pressure on him with our vociferous support for him. Fortunately, it didn't took Lee long to rebound from his second meltdown. From there, he chalked up more impressive wins and it seemed that Lee Chong Wei has finally managed to overcome his mental meltdowns from the loss in the 2006 World Championships and 2007 World Badminton Championships.
Then came the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Prior to Sunday (the fateful day - August 17, 2008), I was quietly confident that Lee could steal the gold medal from the Chinese players. In fact (in my opinion), Lee was the only player who could defeat Lin Dan or at least give Lin a run for his money. Lee has the required skills, power, speed and stamina to match Lin. My only concern was his mental strength but again we are talking about the Olympics. I'm sure BAM would have looked into that area (as I have read in the newspapers) for Lee who has a history to suffer mental meltdown during crunch time. As the badminton competition of the Olympics progressed, my confidence in Lee grew as he showed that he was able to handle the pressure and he has matured. I was indeed impressed with his mental recovery to win the semi final match, after uncharacteristically losing the second game in such tame manner to Lee Hyun-Il.
The final day for Olympics badminton competition started with such an exciting match - the bronze medal playoff for Mixed Doubles. The four players were battling so fiercely as if it was a gold medal match and their life was on the line. Then came the gold medal match for Mixed Doubles. Wow an upset! The no. 1 seeded Indonesian pair fell to the Korean pair. Inspiring. In fact, Zhang Ning's win over Xie Xianfang was also very inspiring. Could Lin Dan fall to Lee Chong Wei just like the other top seeds that have previously fell in the Olympics badminton?
Unfortunately, we have to witness an embarrassing defeat of Lee by Lin. Don't get me wrong. I'm not angry or disappointed that Lee lost to Lin. I'm angry and disappointed by the way Lee lost to Lin. It makes me even more upset to find out that Lee was given a hero's welcome and untimely praises by Malaysians. Why are we celebrating? What is there to celebrate? The silver medal is the least that Lee should deliver. Anything less than a silver from Lee would have been a disaster and money wasted. Why are we Malaysians treating him as a hero while Lee was just merely doing his job and performing his responsibility. Malaysia has spent our tax payers' money (all these years) to fund Lee and the badminton team to bring home a gold not a silver. Why are we Malaysians toasting Lee as a champion when he has ended up second best? Are we so desperate that even losing should be a reason for us to celebrate and crowned a hero?
If we do not put a stop to the "loser" mentality, Malaysian sports will never produce another world champion or Olympic gold medalist. It was very obvious that Lin shouldered as much pressure as Lee (if not more - just compare China's population to Malaysia to do the math) but Lin shown the winners' attitude and approach. Lin was determined to win and prepared well for the match while Lee was merely trying to win. The attitude and approach proved to be difference in separating the winner and loser for the match. I sincerely hope that this experience will open up the eyes and mind of all Malaysians that in order to win, it all starts with having the winning mind set. There is no point in giving a wrong illusion by toasting second best and treating them as heroes or Malaysia as a country will never win any area. Lee should be given a pat on the back for a job done but not hero's treatment. The development of badminton in Malaysia is falling into the trap of other sports that are spiraling downward like football and hockey (just to name a couple). The main area that we lose at is lacking the winning attitude and mindset. Datuk Nicol David truly deserves a hero's welcome and Malaysians should learn how to be world champions from her - the only true champion and hero of Malaysian sports.
Singapore celebrated her Independence Day last Saturday. As always, a huge party with much pomp and pizzazz was held downtown - thousands took part in the dances, parades and various other performances but having just witnessed the Olympics opening ceremony the evening before, what was put up paled in comparison. Nonetheless, we salute their effort.
As Singapore is a relatively small city state, one can almost always observe any airborne performances if one looks from a high floor. On Saturday, we could see the Singapore flag being paraded around the city (see pix).
On a related note, on the streets of Singapore today, you find that every other person you meet is an immigrant from either the Republic of China or India. With an aging population and the birthrate of local Singaporeans at a low 1.29, the only way to sustain the growing economy is by liberalizing its immigration policies.
Two of our neighbors, for example, are immigrants: one is a household from Myanmar and another from Taiwan. The only "real" Singaporean neighbor we have is an old retired couple. It'll be interesting to see how the future of Singapore pans out...
A week ago, while waiting for the bus near our apartment, we spotted the President of Singapore, S.R. Nathan, returning home from a day's work. Yup, though a large Presidential residence is available to him, he has chosen to stay put at his own home - which is on the street adjacent to our apartment block.
Other than an obvious guard booth outside the terrace house, his home is no different or fancier than his immediate neighbors. I walk by his house whenever I have to catch a bus to my office but that day last week was the only presidential sighting we've had so far.
We went to the doctor's today and here's the report (I know that Grandma A is anxious about baby's update!):
Baby is 9 weeks and 2 days old as of today and is 2.5 cm in length. When we looked at him/her on the ultrasound this morning, he/she twitched a few times - very cute! You can see on the above printout limb buds that would grow into hands and feet. So beautiful!
I'Ching isn't feeling too awful overall except for the occasional mood changes (from exhilaration to depression) but she's thankful that she has no real morning sickness. She's beginning to notice a pattern of her so-called cravings where she finds herself constantly thinking of foods she grew up eating - like Ipoh fishball noodles, "chee cheong fun" (Chinese rice noodle roll), Ipoh-style curry noodle and "chu chap chook" (congee with deep fried pig intestines) (Don't worry, baby's Grandma, such crazily exotic food will not harm the little one!)
Brian has been a most supportive husband where he would patiently endure his wife's whims and fancies. In fact, today, though he loathes being seen with a women's purse, he carried I'Ching's all the way from the doctor's to home as she was advised not to stress herself after her blood test. Ah...parenthood changes everything!
Most of you who read this blog would know by now that Brian and I are parents. I am seven weeks and three days along in my pregnancy. It still feels surreal sometimes that I have a human person growing inside of me but reality kicks in in the form of extreme exhaustion and intense hunger pangs.
It is predictable what the first questions are when someone finds out that I'm pregnant and I'll spare you the inquiry:
Anyone: Oh, how far along are you?
Me: Seven weeks and counting!
Anyone: Any morning sickness?
Me: No, I don't think so, except for the occasional nausea.
Anyone: Any cravings?
Me: I'm not sure if you'd consider them cravings but I'm always hungry for something! I guess, you could say that I'm craving for food, in general!
Brian reports that I also do not have radical mood swings (good for him!) and things have been rather smooth so far. There have been moments of anxiety and uncertainty but the awareness and reminder that this child is a blessing from God assures us that even now, the life of our little one is in his hands.
*Disclaimer: Belly in picture is NOT mine!!! :)
It's almost been a month since we moved into our new place. I am still getting used to the small space (where wherever I turn, I bump into Brian!) and getting into the habit of NOT stocking up on anything as we simply do not have the storage space.
Nonetheless, we are beginning to enjoy our new nest (more so Brian than I) and I must say that the view from our kitchen window is breathtaking - especially at night. It faces south where the Straits of Singapore is (that's where the East Coast Park beach I mentioned in an earlier post is). In the evening, we can sometimes hear ships sounding their horn. In fact, on a clear day, we may even catch a glimpse of an Indonesian island far in the horizon. Following is the view in the day and at night:
So, we survived our move! Come Monday and we would have moved into our new place one, oops, two weeks! Wow, I have totally lost track of time. The first few days post-move were trying for us - we had to keep throwing things out to fit our new small apartment (though we had started to trash before the move).
Finally, after four nights of going to bed at 4 am, we unpacked most of our boxes (Brian did really well with the books and CDs) and we felt almost settled again. Our phone and internet were hooked up by the second day and we had our curtains up (thanks to our friend, Richard, from church) by the third.
We (well, mostly I) breathed a huge sigh of relief as I cannot operate in the midst of disorder. Now that it's our new home, this small space actually feels pretty cozy. However, before I could enjoy our new place, I was due for travel again - this time to Grand Rapids in the US to attend a four-day conference (Acton University 2008). It is a long way to travel for such a short program but it's really worth it. I'm presently making this entry in my hotel room right after the end of the conference. The content, tone and mission of the program has been nothing but inspiring. Now I dread my 26-hour trip home tomorrow.
Some pixs from my visit: 1) view from the conference area; 2) sculpture that commemorates Grand Rapids as the first city in the world to put fluoride in its drinking water; 3) a sure sign that I'm in tornado-land!
While I'm here, Brian has been exploring our new neighborhood. He's been enjoying taking walks to the beach (East Coast Park) which he claims is only 20 minutes away (see below). We'll post pixs of our new place as soon as I get home.
We have been working on our move since this morning. Other than for lunch and dinner, we hardly took any break. Our bodies, especially our feet, are exhausted! Moving is not new to either of us.
I remember moving every few years when I was a kid as my parents always rented. However when I was child, I only had to pack the stuff in my room and that's really not a lot. Now that were grown-ups and have our own household, it's a totally different ball game! For example, I never knew it's so much trouble defrosting a fridge and getting it ready to be moved. I can't wait to be settled again!
Oops, our break is up and I'll leave you with some new pixs that just came in:
1) Church friend's wedding last weekend (can you spot us?)
2) Brian teaching the Adult Sunday School at our church on Sunday.
Our living room is filled with boxes and boxes of mostly books. We're almost ready to move in three days' time but I don't feel like I am prepared for it emotionally. I, I'Ching, have just returned from Manila. It was a good trip - a fruitful one in many ways. I visited some friends from another US-based Apologetics organization who're in the Philippines to teach at a conference. Interestingly enough, though I was not on the list to speak, the organizer had referred to me as one of the speakers (see pix below).
On the flights I was able to catch two movies which I think are worth checking out:
1) I could never be your woman (Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd)
2) Dan in real life (Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche)
I guess our next entry will be done at our new place. Till then, we're here.
It's been a while since our last entry. This is due to our present state of existence which is extremely hectic, busy and stressful. I, I'Ching, have been traveling: was in India for a little over a week and then immediately to Malaysia (with Brian) for a weekend of teaching.
Brian has been doing most of the packing till this week when I can finally do my share. I have to leave again for a few days to the Philippines - hence I've to ensure that I put in enough packing before I leave. My mom has so kindly traveled down for a few days to help me some. Do keep us in your prayers during this stressful time.
Needless to say, the apartment is in a mess - very troubling to my soul which very much prefers order and tidiness. We can't wait till it's mid-June when we can have a few weeks of "calmness".
The whole of last week was an eventful one. First, my sister visited us in Singapore over the weekend. It was a lot of fun (it's always fun when she visits!) involving lots of window-shopping, eating out at restaurants which Brian and I typically do not go on our own and fantasizing about our dream Chan-family vacation (due to life circumstances we've not taken a holiday together as a family since I was 11!).
Then, on Monday (sister left for home on Sunday), I got a call from her in the morning that our maternal grandmother (we all, including Brian, call her PohPoh) is very sick. Then, at 5 pm, I got another call from sister that PohPoh has had a hemorrhaging stroke and has been sent to the hospital. We did not know what to expect as we waited anxiously for my parents to update us on her situation. By the next morning, it was decided that she'll be operated on. As PohPoh is in her mid-80's, the risk of such a surgery was expected to be high.
Brian and I were of two minds about dropping all we had to do and travel to Ipoh Malaysia to see her. On one hand, my parents told us to wait and see, on the other hand, we didn't want to arrive at her bedside when it's too late. Unlike my sister and other cousins, I share a special bond with PohPoh as I was left with PohPoh for the first few years of my life as my parents worked in another city. Needless to say I'm her favorite grandchild.
Though I was scheduled to go to Jakarta on Friday for work, by late Tuesday afternoon I was on a flight to Kuala Lumpur to meet my sister who then drove us to Ipoh (two hour drive). By the time we arrive Ipoh, PohPoh had already come out of surgery. She was still semi-conscious when we visited her but doctor said she's a very strong woman. True enough, she was discharged from the hospital today (merely a week after her stroke). Seeing that she's okay we left for home the next day.
I even made it to Jakarta for a weekend of speaking engagements. Brian had to come with me last minute as my colleague was not well and could not make it.
The difficult part begins now for my family in Ipoh - PohPoh is now staying with my parents and it's been very hard taking care of her. Besides, my mom is not young herself and she is narcoleptic. We're hoping to hire help to assist my mom with PohPoh but the hiring process takes time. Our family needs lots of prayers right now.
I was only away for a night (for work) and Brian's fallen sick! Down with a rather bad cold, we've been trying to self-medicate (Nyquil at night and Panadol Cold in the day) before opting for the last resort of going to the doctor's. It's not a great week for Brian to be sick as he has to preach on Sunday at our home church (always not an easy task to preach at one's home church!).
I, on the other hand, have been trying to fulfill my role as the caring spouse - trying to nurse my poor husband to health by making sure that he takes his medication and gets enough fluid. One of the challenges I face is deciding which is better for him - chicken soup or chicken congee.In the West (particularly in the US), when one is ill, it is traditional to have chicken soup. 
However, my Chinese upbringing taught me that chicken congee is the way to go for someone who is sick. If you think about it, it makes sense to have congee as the carb would fuel the energy the sick needs. Therein lies my predicament - should I feed Brian with chicken soup (his tradition) or should I go with my Chinese instinct to give him chicken congee? In the end, I settled for a compromise - chicken soup for lunch and chicken congee for dinner. He seemed to have enjoyed the congee when he had it last evening (the ginger in it helps loosen the sinus).
So, please pray for Brian - that he'll recover soon enough for the long weekend ahead!
(Image credit: Rinaz.net)
Of course, for Chinese who are Christians, many of these rituals and beliefs contradict what we believe about hell and the dead. Hence, it's always a challenge for individual Christians who have family members that subscribe to such traditional notions.
