"Ti Kong"

Day eight:
If Hokkien, have another reunion dinner and at midnight, pray to "Ti Kong" or the God of Heaven. A sunny day means a profitable year and a rainy day means care must be taken to avoid losses.

--Lee Lee Tan

My dad's side of the family is Hokkien. When I was kid, we used to Pai Tin Kong (or Bai Tian Gong in Hokkien). My sister and I will accompany dad to Seremban just to buy a roasted pig for this ceremony. A table is set outside the house with various Chinese foods meant for the gods. A little before midnight, friends, neighbours and relatives will come over and we will eat, drink and chat till dawn. After the midnight prayers, the roast pig will be sliced and served. In the morning, we will give some Chinese cakes and the likes to our neighbours. It was really fun and exciting. I remember looking forward to it every CNY. We don't celebrate this day anymore, the last time was back in the 80s.

Tonight, we anticipate a massive jam outside our place. There is a huge temple about three minutes away from us - Thean Hou Temple - and the traffic there is horrendous during CNY. Anyhow, we'll be avoiding that disaster by going up to PJ to see some relatives.