What does CNY mean to you?

Generally speaking from the viewpoint of youngsters, if I may generalise, and if I may think of myself and my group of acquaintances as "youngsters" ... it doesn't really mean much. *Oooh, such a sweeping statement*

Think about it. For the young 20-something person working away from home, he returns to his home in another state, spends a whole week among family, eating, drinking, pretending to enjoy the many trials of "catching-up" with relatives. With the wonderful CNY weather of hot humid totally sore-throat inducing sun, we traipse from house to house, collecting ang pau rather bashfully ...

Ooh, ang pau, another bone to pick. It was fun when we were younger, wasn't it? Now, you've reached that age where you feel uncomfortable literally taking money from an old retired aunt or a smiling hunched grandpa. That's if you're not married yet. If you are, CNY becomes a financial crisis situation. True true, the red packet's to symbolise good wishes and what-nots, it shouldn't matter how much it contains, but kids nowadays .... *tsk tsk* ... and the social stigma! Don't get me started ...

For those who are used to living in huge bustling traffic-jammed KL, returning to a quiet, supposedly stressed-free hometown may pose a tricky problem. What to do ah at home? Is there so much to say to your family and relatives? Or maybe it's just me, who's gonna be cooped up at home with my nucleus family, since most of our relatives are all in different states. TV torrents seems like a good idea - but that defeats the whole purpose of the new year, doesn't it? The solitary viewing of American TV through a 17" LCD screen - hah! Shouldn't it be a time when you renew ties and catch up with each other? Somehow, what CNY means seems to be eluding me - or maybe it's study stress ...