KUALA LUMPUR: All his life, Deepavali and Tamil New Year were the only festivals that Dinesh K. Krishnan celebrated. But for the first time this year, he will also be celebrating Chinese New Year, thanks to his newly-wedded wife.
The 30-year-old engineer from Cheras tied the knot with Goh Mei Ling, 29, in June last year and both are set to celebrate the festival as a couple this year with the Chinese side of the family.
Sharing his excitement with the New Straits Times, Dinesh said he was especially looking forward to the reunion dinner because he heard a lot about its importance.
He said he was used to visiting friends for Chinese New Year in the past, but preparing for it was a whole new feeling.
“My wife and I have done some shopping for decorations, but there are still a few more things to buy, like the Chinese characters. Shopping for Chinese New Year may look easy, but it can take a whole day,” he said in jest.
Dinesh realised some practices in ushering in the Lunar New Year were similar to the Indian culture.
“For instance, the colour black, which should not be worn on any happy occasion, is also observed by Indians. I never knew that the Chinese have a lot of superstitions too, which are almost similar to Indians’.”
Dinesh said he and his wife would be celebrating at his in-laws’ place in Sabak Bernam.
“My parents are excited about Chinese New Year because it is their first time visiting a Chinese in-law. We all have two festivals to celebrate from now on.”
Goh was equally excited to be hosting her in-laws for the first time.
“I’m slightly nervous, but I look forward to the celebration with Dinesh and his family. It’s going to be a muhibbah crowd this time,” she said.
Goh said the thought of having two big food containers of muruku at Chinese New Year is a nice thing because it was specially prepared by her mother-in-law.
Another mixed marriage couple, Webster Kuhanason, 34, a Chindian who recently tied the knot in October with Wen Li
Ho, 32, will be celebrating the festival with the wife’s side of the family.
He said it was more meaningful, as he could celebrate it with his wife, whom he affectionately calls Wen Li.
“My mother is Chinese and my father is Indian, so I pretty much celebrated both Deepavali and Chinese New Year while I was growing up. This time around, it feels extra special as I will celebrate it with my wife,” said the trainer.
Webster and Wen Li knew each other via Tinder, a dating application, back in 2015. Although she was working in Australia, she came back to Malaysia for Chinese New Year. They met and fell in love then.
“As for Chinese New Year decor, we’ve opted for a minimalist approach in the spirit of ‘KonMari’. Over the years, we have absolutely fallen in love with the beauty of simplicity,” he said, referring to decluttering method introduced by best-selling author, Marie Kondo.
Though the couple preferred a minimalist approach, they still hold on to the open house culture.
“Festivals are the only time when we can take a break from work and catch up on life,” Webster said.