Chinese New Year is all about good food, dressing up to the nines catching up with friends and family. Speaking of family, it is the most dreaded time for singles and married people (looks like no one is safe) because we get bombarded with an assortment of questions the moment they find out our age and then our marital status.
Here are our top 10 dreaded questions:
1. When are you getting married?
Like hello, we’re not the ones proposing! If your other half is there with you, it can get pretty awkward and you wished he’d just ask already so that you don’t have to go through another year of this torture!
2. How many As did you get in so-and-so exam?
Okay so your relatives are probably just trying to make small talk and have the best intentions, until they start comparing you to your other cousins and telling your parents that you need “more tuition.”
3. Why did you breakup with B? He’s such a nice boy!
It’s hard to explain why your relationship didn’t work out to people you only talk to once a year without knowing the background story. Don’t go into details unless your relatives know the both of you very well otherwise rumors will spread like wildfire before the day is even over!
4. Wah so fat already! Never mind, Xin Nian can eat more, next week you start diet ya!
When you’re fat they complain, when you lose weight, they also find reasons to pick on you. When will they ever accept you for who you are?
5. Why are you so thin? Nah, eat more!
Refer to question 4
6. Are you wearing that dress? I know you just bought them but you wore them already, can you go and change into something new? No, we’re not going out of the house until you change.
Who cares if it’s worn already, as long as it looks decent and no one has seen you in it before it should be fine right? Have you gotten bad luck just because you wore something that isn’t new on the first day of Chinese New Year? Well, you could always pick out some thing from our CNY shopping list here.
7. So, when’s the baby coming? What about the next one?
Every parent appreciates whatever little advice they can get when it comes to raising children but when relatives start imposing their experiences and telling the former that what they’re doing is wrong, prepare for things to get hostile. Just gimme my baby’s angpow already and we can get outta here!
8. What are you working as? Really? Not bad, not bad. My son is a doctor, in England!
Congratulate them and say, “At least I’m here with my parents every Chinese New Year and weekend.” and then announce fictitious plans of world domination.
We’re going to stop at 8 because it’s an auspicious number, no?
Don’t be stressed or get worked up over silly questions because if you think about it, you’re probably going end up being the same kay-poh aunty many years from now so give them a break and just laugh it off.
Have a good new year!
