In literature we are familiar with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night but the Chinese are more concerned about the fifteenth night of the Chinese Lunar New Year. This marks the last day of the celebrations after which people will really settle back into normalcy.
This day is called Chap Goh Meh in the Hokkien dialect and Yuánxiāo jié (元宵节) in Mandarin . The Chinese consider this as a day for lovers and we can say that this is the Chinese version of Valentine's Day. Some say that those desperate single ladies will throw mandarin oranges or tangerines (in which they have written down their contact numbers, email addresses or blog addresses and throw them into any large mass of water like a lake, river or sea. On the other end, there'd be equally desperate single males waiting to fish the tangerines or mandarin oranges from the lake, river or sea in the hope of finding a nice girl to share their lives with. Romantic, eh?
Oh, before I forget, the ladies must remember not to use the shrivelled/dried up or spoilt oranges or tangerines. They must use the best fruits as it has been said by the elders that if they throw bad fruits they'd end up with someone who'd resemble what they had thrown into the sea. This is some sort of punishment from Neptune. Ouch! Wrong concept! Not Neptune but the Sea Dragon King.
Exactly a year ago on this day I went with my neighbours, Mr and Mrs Ooi, to the beach in Lumut to throw some auspicious items into the sea in the hope of getting good luck. Actually this practice originated from Penang and not ancient China. There people hold Lantern Festivals. Besides mandarins and tangerines being thrown for romance luck, other items are thrown for different types of luck. Throwing groundnuts would mean being blessed with longevity. Bananas bring wealth luck and spring onions would bring intellectual luck. Last year my neighbours threw groundnuts and bananas for wealth luck. Me? I was very kiasu and threw the whole lot into the sea. Heh! Heh! This year, I have not made any plans yet. Shall I or shall I not go?
This day is called Chap Goh Meh in the Hokkien dialect and Yuánxiāo jié (元宵节) in Mandarin . The Chinese consider this as a day for lovers and we can say that this is the Chinese version of Valentine's Day. Some say that those desperate single ladies will throw mandarin oranges or tangerines (in which they have written down their contact numbers, email addresses or blog addresses and throw them into any large mass of water like a lake, river or sea. On the other end, there'd be equally desperate single males waiting to fish the tangerines or mandarin oranges from the lake, river or sea in the hope of finding a nice girl to share their lives with. Romantic, eh?
Oh, before I forget, the ladies must remember not to use the shrivelled/dried up or spoilt oranges or tangerines. They must use the best fruits as it has been said by the elders that if they throw bad fruits they'd end up with someone who'd resemble what they had thrown into the sea. This is some sort of punishment from Neptune. Ouch! Wrong concept! Not Neptune but the Sea Dragon King.
Exactly a year ago on this day I went with my neighbours, Mr and Mrs Ooi, to the beach in Lumut to throw some auspicious items into the sea in the hope of getting good luck. Actually this practice originated from Penang and not ancient China. There people hold Lantern Festivals. Besides mandarins and tangerines being thrown for romance luck, other items are thrown for different types of luck. Throwing groundnuts would mean being blessed with longevity. Bananas bring wealth luck and spring onions would bring intellectual luck. Last year my neighbours threw groundnuts and bananas for wealth luck. Me? I was very kiasu and threw the whole lot into the sea. Heh! Heh! This year, I have not made any plans yet. Shall I or shall I not go?
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