{"id":105,"date":"2014-09-30T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T01:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/2014\/09\/30\/singapore-teochew-festival-2014\/"},"modified":"2014-10-04T09:48:57","modified_gmt":"2014-10-04T01:48:57","slug":"singapore-teochew-festival-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/2014\/09\/singapore-teochew-festival-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore Teochew Festival 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
Those friends who know us well, know that my wife and I as different as chalk and cheese. But thankfully, when it comes to parenting, we are on the same page. We believe that among other priorities, we want to bring up our kids to be rooted to their traditions and loyal to their family. And to do that, we constantly pursue opportunities for Dana to draw close to her elders.<\/p>\n
Why do we do so?<\/b><\/p>\n
Although inter-generational families are encouraged and \u2018Grandparent Parenting\u2019 (where children are outsourced to grandparents) is a common trend here in Singapore, parents have to be more pro-active and intentional in helping our young know their elders and not so much the other way around. After all, being WITH someone and actually KNOWING that person are two different matters altogether. You can live in the same household and still be strangers.<\/p>\n
Great Grandma enjoying Dana’s company!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n By letting Dana spending time with her elders, we hope to instill these values:<\/p>\n 1) Empathy<\/b><\/span>: Great-Grandma is 87 years old and her health has been on the decline. Whenever we bring the wheel-chair bound Great-Grandma out, Dana gets the chance to assist Great-Grandma in her needs. She learns to put aside her own needs and care for Great-Grandma.\u00a0 She also witnesses how her significant adults show love to Great-Grandma in deeds and actions. Dana communicates to Great-Grandma in the smattering of Teochews which she picked up from us and this never fails to make all of us laugh. Despite the age gap and language barriers, they enjoy each other\u2019s company and developed a strong bond, never mind that most of the time, they both don\u2019t quite understand each other. Whenever we see the two of them interact, we are reminded that language is not needed when we show acts of love, empathy and compassion.<\/p>\n 2) Respect: <\/b><\/span>True to being Asian, we still address each other by our genealogical terms. For Great-Grandma, Dana calls her \u2018Lau3 Ma4\u2019 (in Teochew). In the same spirit, she has also been taught to address other elders according to their seniority. In addition, she sees us, her parents, doing the same. Respect, essentially, is the ability to accord consideration and proper respect to others – an important soft skill which is increasingly lacking in many young people today but is an important trait of a well-mannered person.<\/p>\n 3) Identity:<\/b><\/span> In this age of globalization where we encourage the young to have a \u2018global mindset\u2019, one\u2019s identity is easily ‘lost in translation’. How do we anchor ourselves in the global world if we don\u2019t even know our heritage and don\u2019t have a reference point? That reference point, we believe would be our identity \u2013 who we are as a person ethnically, historically and genealogically. Dana enjoys listening to Great-Grandma\u2019s WW2 stories and joins us in observing family rituals. Identity forges a sense of loyalty in our children, steering them to the set of common values (and sometimes faith) shared by the family which will later see them through thick and thin in adulthood.<\/p>\n How do we do all these?<\/b><\/p>\n 1) Routine visits: <\/b><\/span>We structured in weekly visits to Great-Grandma’s home. I also involve Dana in weekly phone conversations with her paternal Grandmother in Malaysia. The use of technology like sending videos through whats-app helps to bridge the gap and keep the elders up to date with the children\u2019s milestone and developments.<\/p>\n 2) Days Out: <\/b><\/span> We are always on the lookout for new places to bring Great-Grandma on weekends. It could be a lunch or a dinner at a new dim-sum restaurant or to visit the latest attraction in Singapore. Wherever possible, we involve our elders in the creation of family memories so that no one gets left behind.<\/p>\n 3) Other Special Events:<\/b><\/span> Special events are wonderful occasions to bring our elders out. From the obvious Mothers\u2019 Day, Birthdays, National Days to ad-hoc events. One such event perfect for inter-generational family bonding is the Singapore Teochew Festival <\/a>which is now on till this Sunday (5 October 2014). This inaugural Singapore Teochew Festival<\/a> showcases everything Teochew – from cultural to culinary.<\/p>\n The Festival spans more than 30,000 sq ft of the outdoor atrium at Ngee Ann City\u00a0and boasts 24 vendors peddling unique food products, scrumptious fare and exquisite merchandise. Most of these food vendors, craftsmen and artistic talents have been specially invited from Swatow, China. We personally think this is a meaningful initiative by the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan to give the public\u00a0a glimpse\u00a0into the vanishing Teochew way of life. For modern Singaporeans parents, it provides us a rare opportunity to share with our children the beautiful Teochew heritage before it is\u00a0entirely eroded\u00a0by the rate of modernisation. Great-Grandma and the wife are both Teochews (and I love Teochew food) so I knew a visit is a must.<\/p>\n |