I seem to be asked "You're back soon, right?" or "Which day are you going back?" quite a bit these past days. It's as though it's expected of one to go back home to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Yes, I am Chinese. Yes, it's the new lunar year and yes, the government gives you twice the duration of public holidays as compared to January 1st. But for me, I don't get it. There's nothing tangible as you cross midnight - no change in the month let alone the year.

The older generation would say - we got to buy new clothes and it was the only time we were allowed to have soft drinks. Tell that to the obese primary school kid whose only form of exercise is making more trips to the buffet table while hoping his iPod would break so that he could have an excuse to buy a new one.

For me, CNY is a bit mechanical, you go out and buy a big crate of mandarins. The married ones go to the bank to get fresh dollar bills while the non-married ones make sure their clothes have sufficient pockets.

For me, Christmas still has it's allure. I like that you have to try to think of a suitable present for the people you want to get something for. There's no law which dictates that you have to give me an ang pow purely because of my age and my marital status - containing even numbered amounts. Except 4.

Or maybe that's the charm - the rituals, the superstitions. But I guess it's only meaningful if you understand it. Me? I don't even know what gong xi fa cai really means (although I know what hong bao na lai means).

So there you go - gong xi fa cai. Bah Hambug.