Chinese Fast Breaking
Chinese New Year… well, IINM the calendar is like Islamic calendar, so the Chinese New Year starts from yesterday’s sunset (CMIIW). Just like festival magic, it starts from sunset the day before and continue until midnight or at most tomorrow’s noon. After that it’s the dark looming shadow of reality that there’s still work tomorrow that made the party turns bitter tasted.
It’s a tradition that family gathers and had dinner together.
I kind of expected this. Last year’s I don’t really remember, but seems to be on weekend or something. But combined with the traffic condition in Jakarta recently? You guessed… I dub it the “Chinese Break Fasting” because it followed the same pattern as afternoon in Ramadan fasting month where high volume of peoples are rushing back home as soon as possible. There are some difference though, because this is only one day in a year, not 30 days, so there are peoples who could get permission to go back home early. Secondly, many seems to have car and thus the traffic is actually concentrated to freeway gates. After that it’s quite empty.
The dinner itself is as usual, kind of boring. My generation just gathered in my bedroom (mostly) and had our own gag and gossip session separate from my father’s generation outside. Main reason other than the difference in topic and generation gap is… of course something so realistic and practical: air conditioner.
By the way, went to the temple in Glodok this morning. That is more a photographer bait event than I imagined.