Gathered around the table…it’s a small world after all
Written by Valerie Tan. Posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
In the Chinese tradition, we are expected to bring out the best food we have in our kitchens to serve our guests. It is considered impolite if we have just enough food for everyone on the table, as leftovers are an indication that we have served and fed our guests to the fullest.
Thus, I grew up in a Malaysian household with plenty of food enough to feed relatives and friends whenever they dropped by. There are always extra food on the table for us to take to school for our friends, for us to give away to neighbors or just anyone else.
Other than that, the one thing that I enjoyed the most about growing up in a Chinese family is celebrating Chinese New Year.
It is the time of the year when each family has a reunion dinner. My mother is always in charge of cooking for our family members that consist of 20 people. During the reunion dinner, everyone gathered and sat at the big round dining table in my house. Nobody is to touch the food until everyone is seated.
It is a tradition in the Chinese family to let the elderly pick their food first as a sign of respect.
It is thrilling to see a whole piglet, a whole duck, a whole chicken, and a whole fish lying right in the middle of the table. They are served whole, with heads and tails, because it is considered auspicious to have everything in its original form as it symbolizes completeness for a better year. Besides that, we would be served with egg noodles as it symbolizes longevity and health.
I like how these Chinese superstitions made us eat more when we were younger, in hope for a more prosperous year ahead of us.
When I first came to the States a year ago, I realized that no matter where I am, food is always something that bonds people together. I remember celebrating Christmas exactly the same way as I would have celebrated Chinese New Year. I remember pigging out on turkeys, pies, bread dressing and, most importantly, the wonderful time spent with friends and family.
(Valerie Qiang Chin Tan is a public health nutrition major from Malaysia.)
