Cats who teach me to fly…

The picture on the left was taken during the eve of CNY. I had an early reunion lunch with my family. Yes, lunch and not dinner. Since I had nothing to do after that, I went to Bugis, hoping to do some last-minute shopping for CNY. I got myself another pair of bunny decorations for my main door.

The picture shows the God of Fortune.  The Chinese believe that the God of Fortune could bring wealth to the people. As you can see, the God of Fortune is dressed in red. Red is an auspicious colour to the Chinese and he is carrying golden ingots on his right hand, ready to distribute to the people.

The picture on the right is a temple which is situated at Waterloo Street, Bugis. It is named Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple (观音堂佛祖庙). It is a popular temple for the local devotees. These devotees worship to the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin.

It is incorrect to address Kuan Yin as Goddess of Mercy. I can’t remember why… Well, as soon as I remember, I’ll pen down the reason here…

The picture was taken around 6.30pm that day. As you can see, there were not many people. Devotees began to flow in after 11pm on the eve of the Lunar New Year. The reason for these devotees to flow in at this hour was because they want to receive good fortune from Kuan Yin Pu Sa (观音菩萨）on the first day of CNY. When the clock strikes 12 am, devotees would rush to place the joss sticks into a large copper pot, which is meant for the joss sticks. Whoever gets to offer the joss sticks first would be the luckiest one.

No, I didn’t stay there till midnight, I left immediately after prayer. The picture below shows a white lotus flower.  I bought the white lotus flower for offering. There were three colours: red, pink and white. I chose white because it symbolizes purity and I love white.

This white lotus flower had not blossomed. I have not seen a real blooming lotus flower yet. I think I am going to set another goal, that is to see a blooming lotus flower not from any florist shop but from where it originally grows. Yes, lotus grows in murky ponds and swamps. In the day, it  rises to the surface to bloom. At night, the flower closes and sinks underwater. At dawn it rises and opens again. It must be beautiful!

I have set a goal this November, that is to visit Chang Mai Elephant Nature Park this November. My purpose to be there is to do volunteer work. I love elephants so very much.

Now back to what I did on the eve of CNY. I watched TV and stayed up late to 2am that night. It is a ritual I always do. I wanted to make sure that I welcome the new year. This year, it’s the year of the rabbit.