Self-Happy!

I have been celebrating Chinese New Year in Australia for almost ten years now! The locals here don't really celebrate the holiday, despite the fact that the Australian Prime Minister sends greetings every year. It's all just for show. It's us, the Chinese community, who truly embrace and enjoy the festivities. We put on lion dances, dragon dances, and make a lot of noise with drums and gongs in front of big businesses. It's pure self-happiness!

The Chinese supermarkets here bring in all sorts of "New Year goods" from China, and they don't come cheap! They even sell couplets and lucky characters for people to hang up. However, in recent years, fewer Chinese families have been buying couplets to hang up at their doorsteps. This change is due to the actions of some unruly teenagers who caused a lot of trouble a few years back. These teenagers, mostly descendants of refugees, were caught by the police and received more of an educational approach rather than punishment. They would team up in groups of three or five and specifically target homes with big red couplets on the doors. Many Chinese families have a habit of keeping large amounts of cash at home, so the losses were devastating. As a result, Chinese families have become more cautious and have refrained from displaying couplets and lucky characters.

But let's not dwell on the negatives. Let's join in the self-happiness and celebrate the Year of the Dragon! Congratulations to everyone on the Lunar New Year!