'Different cultures, same good vibes': S'pore Indian family of 30 celebrates CNY with lo hei & steamboat

Not about to be left out of the Chinese New Year festivities, a local Indian family decided to hold their own celebration at home.

The family of over 30 rung in the new year with the works: lo hei, steamboat, and plenty of family-gathering-chaos.

Singapore content creator Abraham De Laure shared clips of the festivities in a Jan. 29 TikTok video that quickly went viral, receiving over half a million views in under a day.

"Have you seen 30+ Indians celebrate Chinese New Year? If you say yes, I pity you. Welcome to my big fat Indian family celebrates Chinese New Year," he said.

Watch on TikTok

Fifth time

Speaking to Mothership, Abraham said that it was the family's fifth year celebrating CNY.

His dad and cousin came up with the idea, he added. "Because let's be real, they'll use any excuse to throw a family gathering."

At this point, they had gotten the festivities "down to an art".

The video showed the family engaging in classic CNY activities, including lo hei — complete with the auspicious phrases.

"Have you seen a bunch of Indians doing lo hei for the first time? It's traumatising," Abraham quipped.

"I've never seen the lo hei fly to the ceiling before."

The family also exchanged Mandarin oranges and indulged in steamboat, a traditional CNY meal.

The two options were tom yum soup and Hai Di Lao's tomato hotpot broth, Abraham said.

It wasn't without a culinary faux pas or two though.

"The last time they did the steamboat they placed the sushi inside the soup. This time they placed the fried gyozas inside the soup," he remarked.

"But it was goooood."

Different cultures, same good vibes

The celebration is part of Abraham's video series, dubbed "My Big Fat Indian Family".

"Basically, I take my loud, food-obsessed, overly dramatic family members and drop them into different scenarios, like BBQs, movie nights, and holiday celebrations," he said.

Filming the festivities is his way of "documenting the beautiful chaos that is my family, one ridiculous gathering at a time".

Watch on TikTok

Abraham also pointed out that by celebrating such occasions, the family embraces the culture and food in melting-pot Singapore.

"Different cultures, different traditions — same good vibes," he added.

He also urged his audience to "make it happen" with their own families.

"Whether you've got a big family, a small family, or just that one real one as family...life's short, bro.

"No point sitting around thinking damn, I should've said this or I wish I had more time...quit waiting, hit up your fam and make it happen."

Top image from Abraham De Laure