there can be unity in diversity

Every year, when the Lunar New Year rolls around, someone always asks if I celebrate it. Yes I do, I always say.

I may not celebrate it in a purely traditional Chinese way, but it’s still an occasion that I look forward to. For me, this is often a poignant time because it reminds me of who and what I am.

My family -- including my in-laws -- always come to lunch on the first day of every Lunar New Year. Over the years, visiting friends and family have also found their way to my table on this day, and it is always a time of camaraderie and laughter.

This year, my dining table groaned under the weight of oxtail devil curry, Malay chicken curry, beef rendang, waxed pork sausages, homemade ngoh hiang (meat rolls), homemade char siew (barbecued pork), roast pork, udang nanas (prawns in pineapple curry) and asparagus with tofu.

And I was surrounded by Chinese, Eurasians, an Indian and a Dutchman -- every one of whom was family. A combination of English and Cantonese was spoken at the table, and if any of my dad's side of the family had joined us, Malay would have been added to the mix.

If it wasn't for the fact that everyone was shaking hands and wishing each other "Happy New Year!" while exchanging hongbaos, this could have been just any family get-together.

And for me, that's exactly what this was: a celebration of family; about ties that cannot be broken by anything -- least of all language, race or religion.

The eclectic menu that we enjoyed was simply a reflection of the diversity that makes up my family; that is a part of me.

My mum's pure Chinese, my dad isn't (there's Dutch blood somewhere but he grew up in a Peranakan family). My husband is Eurasian, with Portuguese ancestry. One of my two sisters is married to a Chinese. My husband's sisters are married to Chinese, Indian and Dutch men. According to my dad, my son is maybe a third or a quarter Chinese.

Much as I love Christmas, it is really during the Lunar New Year that I am reminded of my roots and grounded by them. And I rejoice in the fact that such a large group of people, with such diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, can still come together as a family, bound by the common threads of love and respect.

And at times like this, I'm also proud to be Singaporean, for it is truly one of the few countries in the world where people of different religions and cultures can sit together at a table to share food and conversation, in celebration of each other's festivals.

If it can be done at my home, and in this country, then surely it can also be done elsewhere in the world.

Happy New Year.