The Lunar New Year poon choi feast isn’t just about food. It’s about community

But whether these get-togethers are held at someone’s home or in a restaurant with a permanently booked preferred table kept occupied on the designated day, regularly shared meals – and the conversation that accompanies them – help keep family links going strong across the generations.

In rural settings in the New Territories in earlier times, space was not a concern. All major life events, such as weddings and funerals, were celebrated with a communal meal, to which all participants contributed in one way or another. Serving dishes were a concern, as few farming families possessed more plates and dishes than their individual circumstances required. Larger receptacles were needed for more sizeable gatherings, and well-scrubbed laundry buckets and washing bowls were pressed into service on these occasions.

Until the 1930s in New Territories villages, wooden washing buckets were all that was available. But that changed with the introduction of mass-produced enamelware after World War II. Along with such cups, plates, bowls and platters, large washing tubs and smaller basins intended for kitchen use, were important domestic items invariably found in a bride’s dowry. Enamelware manufacturers shrewdly recognised the secondary use large washbasins periodically found in rural areas and typically emblazoned such items with the Chinese character for “Double Happiness” – always used at wedding celebrations.

Freely borrowing and lending such items to one another, as individual circumstances required, was regarded as a key marker of friendliness and cooperation. Long-term self-interest also played a role; in remote rural settings, everyone in the village knew precisely who had what available, and a churlish refusal to lend something when needed was an unnecessary invitation for lingering ill will.