Do you / your kids kneel down in greeting seniors in CNY?

[carebear]

Kneeling down is a form of respect in the chinese culture.

However it may not be a good idea to force the kids to kneel down as not all of us are brought up that way.
Mine is such a family where we do away with tradition.

This brings me to an incident which was related to me by a friend. Her DD’s teacher asked the class if they knelt down before their elders to wish them well during CNY and her DD was the only one who raised up her hand. This prompted the whole class to laugh at her. Apparently, the teacher did not go on to explain the significance of the kneeling tradition and my friend’s DD was so embarrassed.

[janet88]

carebear:

Kneeling down is a form of respect in the chinese culture.

However it may not be a good idea to force the kids to kneel down as not all of us are brought up that way.
Mine is such a family where we do away with tradition.

I don't have this tradition in my family. So it doesn't make sense for my kids to do that. The only time I knelt was when I served tea to my parents on my wedding day.

[carebear]

janet_lee88:

carebear:

Kneeling down is a form of respect in the chinese culture.

However it may not be a good idea to force the kids to kneel down as not all of us are brought up that way.
Mine is such a family where we do away with tradition.

I don't have this tradition in my family. So it doesn't make sense for my kids to do that. The only time I knelt was when I served tea to my parents on my wedding day.

At least you did that once.
My parents did not place any importance in my marriage celebration as they apparently had a big quarrel during their celebration so they did not want us to be like them. So we could do anything we liked for our celebration and we chose to do nothing!

[janet88]

carebear:

At least you did that once.

My parents did not place any importance in my marriage celebration as they apparently had a big quarrel during their celebration so they did not want us to be like them. So we could do anything we liked for our celebration and we chose to do nothing!

I did it that time bcos his mother wanted it...so I made him kneel when we came back to my parents' place.

[Lemonlime]

My family practise serving "tea" in little small cups to parents/grandparents during CNY where greetings will be exchanged and angpows given from the elders. No kneeling. Just tea serving as a form of respect… I thought this is a good practice as it teaches our young the value of "respect"…

[Funz]

Nope, no kneeling, no bowing. Hugs and kisses instead. :hugs:

[LOLMum]

i cant remember when we started this tradition (after our marriage) but my kids do get down on their kneels to wish dh and i happy new year. each hold two oranges with both hands and say all the 吉利话 to both dh and i. then we give ang pows to them and say 吉利话 to them too.


dont expect them to do so to aunties and uncles. only to grandparents.