This year, Malaysians will be celebrating Chinese New Year (CNY) for the first time under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While pandemic fatigue may have set in and there are the continued whispers of a nasty recession heading this way, life still does and must go on.

Instead of repressing your heritage, Malaysians can still adjust to celebrating this festival with some changes in how they prepare for it and conduct themselves.

Here are some practical ways you can preserve your Malaysian Chinese culture and traditions with some tips for advanced preparation.

1. Scale down spending

Where in previous years you may have spent more on a large spread for meals and snacks, this year you need to get into the habit of buying less since there should be less people present.

The same applies to other typical expenses such as decorations.

However, this does not mean you need to have zero festive purchases – moderation is key.

You can still enjoy good meals catered specifically for your household size. You can still decorate albeit more sparingly. And, you can still hand out cookies to neighbours at their door.

Start your preparations by thinking about where you need to customise spending to accommodate the unique circumstances you find yourselves in.

2. Create a virtual reception

Allowance for physical visitation would depend on the varying degrees of MCO rules per district when CNY 2021 arrives. However, that said, everyone should practise safety since the pandemic is still on-going.

With the advantages of technology, you can now virtually “visit” by video calling each other through WhatsApp, FaceTime, Zoom or Skype. Time to prepare your virtual reception area with these simple steps.

• Prepare your digital devices with necessary virtual meeting apps and check that your camera, microphone, and speakers are working well.
• Find a comfortable and well-lit spot in your home where your household can gather.
• Put up some festive decorations in the background.
• Set up a tripod, a stand, or a makeshift stand (table? books?) to prop up the digital device you will be using for virtual meets.
• Run a few practice meets with your household.

You’re now ready to make and receive CNY video calls. Your friends and family will be delighted to see how well-prepared you and your household are.

3. Prepare e-Angpao

One of the hallmarks of CNY is the giving of red packets. It’s called many different names depending on Chinese dialect such as angpao or hongbao.

Traditionally, the angpao is given by married couples to unmarried individuals, regardless of age. It is also a courtesy for married adult children to present angpao to their parents.

To maintain this delightful practice, there are a number of cashless options.

• Fund transfer between bank savings accounts – recipient needs to provide bank account number and bank name.
• DuitNow – recipient needs to provide a mobile phone number registered with DuitNow.
• Touch’nGo e-wallet – recipient needs to provide a mobile phone number registered with Touch’nGo e-Wallet.

4. Shop Online

CNY, like all other festive events, is about having nice things. If you find that this year, despite the scaled-down festivities, you still have things to purchase, then consider shopping online.

Online shopping reduces your exposure to virus transmission while giving you the ease of comparing prices without traveling to multiple stores. Good for health and money; how auspicious!

For inedible items such as decorations and clothes, you can also opt to find preloved items on platforms like Mudah.my, Carousell, and Facebook Marketplace.

5. Create a MySejahtera QR Checkin

If, and only if, you happen to live in a district where visitations happen to be allowed during CNY 2021, be proactive and create a MySejahtera QR code for your visitors to scan when they come.

Print it out and hang it somewhere visible, such as on your front door. Remind all visitors to scan in.

Do try to limit the number of visitors and number of visitations to the most minimum. It would be much safer and equally as festive to give friends and family a cheerful video call instead.

Conclusion

With some preparation done for CNY 2021, here’s wishing you a cheerful and happy time with your family and friends.

Wishing you a blessed Year of the Ox! Stay healthy and stay wealthy!

This article first appeared in MyPF. Follow MyPF to simplify and grow your personal finances on Facebook and Instagram.