3 Ways Lunar New Year Celebrations Will Test Your Resolutions
With just a few weeks to the Lunar New Year (Monday, February 8, 2016), many western Asian families can anticipate the joys of spending time with relatives, copious amounts of food and drinks and those lucky red packets.
Continuing the New Year with such a bang is another great way to keep the good vibes flowing, while at the same time, putting your New Year’s resolutions to the test.
From those of us who promise to prioritize our health to the generous people who want to spend the rest of the year focusing on giving, the Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year) will either remind you of your commitments or just downright diminish them.
Here are three ways the Lunar New Year challenges New Year's resolutions:
1. Food, Booze And Tunes
It’s no question that traditional home-cooked meals with relatives are often looked forward to, as well as the excuse to throw a memorable party that rivals even the New Year’s Eve one.
With so much culinary temptation floating around, will the health-conscious new you give in? Or will you stick to your diet plan?
It’s disheartening to refuse home-cooked meals during the Lunar New Year, especially those made by grandmaster cooks such as your mom and your aunt.
Perhaps all the food is there to remind you that, although getting fit is a priority, you shouldn’t sacrifice being in the moment all the time.
Instead, learn to enjoy the abundance and variety of food life can provide.
2. The Art Of Giving
Many younger generations are always happy to receive "red packets" from older relatives during this festive time of year.
The red packets contain both money and luck. The red packets are never given without a wish from the giver, focusing on subjects such as financial luck, joy and success.
Of course, the receiver also wishes the giver well. In this way, a cycle of good fortune is reciprocated.
Your New Year’s resolutions may include something about being more generous, and you may even feel guilty being on the receiving end of things.
This custom is a challenge as, although you’re trying to be generous, it is encouraged to understand that receiving is part of a healthy lifestyle.
T. Harv Eker spoke the truth in his financial strategy book, "Secrets Of The Millionaire Mind," where he explained that by putting aside 10 percent of our income purely for play, we are able to flex our receiving muscles.
In this way, we can learn to accept generosity with open arms.
Giving more than you receive is important, but refusing to receive can prove to be detrimental.
3. Connection Established
We're not talking about a WiFi connection.
The Lunar New Year is all about familial connections.
Since "family" is the buzzword of the Lunar New Year, this provides a great opportunity for you to catch up with distant and not-so-distant relatives, even if it's in a networking sort of way.
While many New Year’s resolutions beckon the notions to catch up with old friends or network more, we could really thrive in the form of family gatherings during the Lunar New Year.
This also poses a challenge because it gives you barely a month (from January 1) to brush up on your social skills and connect with people on a deeper level.
Despite these reminders and challenges, it’s hard to deny that Lunar New Year celebrations are extremely enjoyable for all cultures alike.
From public street festivals with lion dances to private parties with too much rice wine, we can all agree that people who have the resolution to have less fun are kidding themselves.
However, the resolution to have more fun will be a piece of cake for you to achieve during the festive Lunar New Year.
