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Sub Category : Miscellaneous

It is the season of festivity for the Chinese community all over the world right now as they are in the midst of celebrating the Chinese New Year. It is a celebration full of festive cheers, good food, and not forgetting, the many "ang paus" (a gift of money inserted into a red packet that married folks give to the unmarried ones) that are being distributed around as gifts when you visit the home of a Chinese family at this time. What is even more wonderful is the fact that Chinese New Year lasts for a whole good fifteen days. Imagine if you are unmarried and you visit a Chinese friend who is married and you get an ang pau packet of say, ten dollars from one married member of that family. If they happen to have a big family and say five of the family members are married and you get an ang pau packet from each of them and they all contain ten dollars a piece.... you'd not only walk away with a full tummy, you will be fifty dollars richer too. All in a day's visit from just one house. Not a bad deal, eh? Now imagine if you visit more than one house in a day, everyday, for fifteen days. Can you imagine the kind of collection you can make just by visiting your Chinese friends on Chinese New Year? However, you need to be legitimately certified unmarried to be the recipient of the ang pau packets. That's the deal. If you're married, forget about it.

Let me back it up a little before I touch on "Chap Goh Mei" and give you a little insight of the going ons and tradition of this lunar festival. Like any other festivals, weeks before the actual day, the Chinese folks would do what any other race would do in preparation for the coming celebration - shopping. This is the time where shopping malls would slash their prices to insanely low price just to attract potential customers. It is undoubtedly the best time to go shopping, that is if you don't mind being in large crowds. Folks will buy new outfits, items from the household department, decorations such as lanterns, and red would be the colour of choice as the colour red is supposed to bring prosperity and good fortune, according to the Chinese belief. Once all the shopping is done, it's time to clean and decorate the house.

The eve of Chinese New Year is a very important night for all Chinese families as that is when they have their big reunion dinner with their family members, usually held at their parents' home. The reunion dinner is equivalent to a Thanksgiving dinner where they give thanks for all the blessings they have received throughout the previous year and they pray for the blessings to continue in the New Year. After dinner, it is normal to celebrate with fireworks and firecrackers - the louder the better. This is to usher in the New Year - with a bang.

On the first day of Chinese New Year, that's when all the fun starts with having family and friends visit their homes. And yes, more good food. For entertainment, they would sometimes play a game of "mahjong", which is the Chinese version of gin rummy. But instead of cards, they use special tiles like domino tiles with Chinese characters on them. Groundnuts, sunflower seeds and Mandarin oranges are usually the favourite munchies with beer being the favourite beverage served at these mahjong sessions. These mahjong sessions can go on for many hours with different players trying their luck at the table. Real money is involved in these sessions and it is the only time where folks don't feel guilty about gambling. With money on the table, cigarette ash scattered everywhere from over spilled ashtrays, broken groundnut shells all over the floor, empty beer cans and bottles strewn all over table tops, counter tops and on the floor, you can just imagine the mess of the aftermath of these sessions. I should also state here that it is a taboo for the house to be swept on the first day of Chinese New Year. The house can be messy with nut shells, spilled food and whatnot, leave them be. It is their belief that any sweeping done on the first day of Chinese New Year would mean you are sweeping away your good luck. Believe it or not, brooms are usually kept hidden on the first day.

Okay, now let's dive into the topic I really want to talk about which is "Chap Goh Mei" (pronounced as "chup goh may"), which is the fifteenth day and the last day of Chinese New Year; which by the way, falls on this coming Friday. Like Chinese New Year day, Chap Goh Mei is celebrated with lots of fireworks and firecrackers. It is normal to see many homes gaily decorated with red lanterns and bright lights to mark the end of an auspicious occasion. In temples, thanksgivings are held where many people would be asking for the God of Prosperity to endow them with success and wealth for the coming year.

Here in Malaysia, in some parts of town, you will be able to witness cultural performances, lantern displays, lion dances and the famous "Chingay" (flag balancing) procession. On a legendary point of view, Chap Goh Mei being regarded as the Chinese Valentine's Day, also brings forth lots of fun and gaiety. It is well known that Chap Goh Mei is a night of courtship and has since been the forerunner in promoting matchmaking. On this night, many young ladies would make their way to the temples, dressed in their best "cheongsam" or "samfu", with hope of finding prospective suitors.

One of the fun activities that take place on this auspicious night includes the throwing of oranges into the river or sea by these young maidens. It is without a doubt, the most popular and colorful moment in the history of Chap Goh Mei. It is believed that by throwing tangerines into the river or sea, these young girls would find themselves a good husband. The act of throwing tangerines into the river or sea signifies that these women are available for marriage. It is also the belief that if a floating tangerine in the water is picked up by someone, that generally means that the single woman who threw it would be able to find a good spouse.

This interesting tradition and practice originated from a little Malaysian island known as Penang; located up north of the Peninsular. This took place sometime towards the end of the 19th century. On a yearly basis, a large crowd would flock to the Esplanade just for this tradition and practice, thus jamming the roads badly. On top of that, tangerines are sold at an exorbitantly high price but the again, who says romance is cheap, right?

Another story of the Chinese Valentine's Day also states that this is the only day in the whole year where young maidens are allowed to stroll the streets. However, they must be accompanied by a chaperone. Knowing this fact, many young men would gather around with hope of catching glimpses of these lovely maidens. According to the legend, there will be a matchmaker from the Moon who would tie red strings of destiny on their legs. As a result, the couple would end up being together.

Although "young maidens" flock the streets freely these days with no strict condition of having a chaperone thus the matchmaker from the Moon is not exactly needed anymore, the tradition of throwing tangerines into the river or sea still prevails. While many no longer believe in the legend, it is still a fun thing to do or observe especially now in the modern times where folks are a lot more bold and creative. They now no longer just throw tangerines into the river or sea, they also throw bananas, apples, mangoes or whatever fruit they can get their hands on. Not only that, now they even write down their name and phone number on the fruit before throwing them into the waters. Is that genius or what?!