Chinese New Year, more fun now than ever

"Everything was better in the olden days" is one of the more ludicrous statements frequently made by elderly or middle-aged people; 1970s hairstyles being a clear exception to this rule. Here's another thing that was definitely much worse in the past: Lunar New Year.

I remember my first Lunar New Year in Hong Kong, when I, thinking it was a normal Sunday, stuffed two HK$100 bills in my jacket pocket and went to Mui Wo in search of food, only to find the two supermarkets closed for three days. The market and all the restaurants were also closed. An ominous red and yellow sign led to the only place open.

Would I have to break a long-held principle and go to McDonald's? As I stood debating with myself on the windiest corner of Lantau on the windiest day of the year, a gust tore the two HK$100 notes out of my shallow jacket pocket and carried them off to sea.

Now I was starving, freezing - and broke! Damn you, Year of the Dragon (or Tiger, or whatever stupid year it had become). Then a small miracle happened: a rowing boat appeared, its inhabitant proudly clutching a dripping HK$100 note. The other had gone to its watery grave.

I took this as an omen and quickly ran from the McDonald's, never to return. That night, I went to bed hungry.

Nowadays, Lunar New Year is, of course, a completely different animal. Shops, instead of closing over the holiday, seem to extend their opening hours. And the mainland, which in the past seemed deserted during what must have been a traumatic time of the year for the Chinese, what with all the frantic travelling and enforced handing over of all their cash, is now roaring with activity.