Netmoirs of A Solemn Rover

Countdown To Moonies

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to ya'll mooncake freaks. Let us all sing an ode to the babe in da moon, Miss Chang Er. Hope ya got a nice life in da moon always. Oh, yea. Neil Armstrong says hi to you and your crazy bunny. Any of you suckers munching mooncakes while reading my post? I am not, but I did few weeks back. But I already gobbled up around 6 moonies since last month, and the latest, 4 moonies in 2 days around 2 weeks ago. I personally like all moonies as long they don't come with...

Cemetery Picnic

This post is something from home - a Sunday cemetery picnic for the whole family! No. It ain't no April Fool’s joke, this is for real. It’s Qing Ming lah, the Chinese celebration for the dead and departed. It is also a celebration to pay tribute to our ancestors. For us is kinda like a 'picnic' cos it falls on a Sunday. I missed this occasion for 8 years in a row now. My last tribute to my ancestors was in 1999, just before I come to UK. Missed this occasion tremendously as this was a...

Sugarcaned Closing

For the Hokkiens, yesterday was the last day of the Chinese New year celebration although the actual period was 15 days for other Chinese clans. The 9th day celebration was known to the Hokkiens as 'Bai Tian Gong' (拜天公) which literally means 'praying the Heaven God'. Growing up in a close-knit traditional Hokkien family, my childhood memories of 'Bai Tian Kong' can be regarded as one of my sweetest memories during those days. The evening before the prayers at midnight, I will help...

Happy Winter Solstice Festival

Happy Winter Solstice Festival peeps! Winter Solstice Festival also known as Dong Zhi is basically a Chinese thanksgiving day based on the Chinese calendar. "Dong Zhi" literally means the "arrival of winter" and coinciding with the winter solstice, it is an occasion for the family to get together to celebrate the good year they have had. Dong Zhi, like Chinese New Year is basically a time for family reunion. It took place 6 weeks before Chinese New Year and would normally fall between...