With Lunar New Year festivities coming to a close, there's one last celebration that people look forward to before celebrations end – Chap Goh Mei, which directly translates to the 15th night of the Lunar New Year in Hokkien.
As the name implies, it's celebrated on the last night of the Lunar New Year. Despite garnering a reputation as being 'Chinese Valentine's Day', there's more to Chap Goh Mei than the tossing of mandarin oranges into a body of water in hopes of finding love. In fact, the celebration is composed of multiple 'layers' or rituals, each of them significant in their own right.
Here are 4 things that make Chap Goh Mei a truly special occasion.
1. Origins in a 'burning' village.
IMAGE: New Straits Times
It's said that Chap Goh Mei may have originated from the legend of the Jade Emperor, a figure in old Chinese folk religion. His most prized possession – a pet crane – was supposedly killed by a group of villagers.
Caught in a fiery rage, the Jade Emperor devised a scheme to burn down the entire village on the last day (the 15h day) of Lunar New Year, marking the end of festivities with death and destruction as payback for the loss of his crane.
But after hearing about his plan, one of the Jade Emperor's daughters (supposedly one of his favorite children) secretly descended into the mortal world to warn the villagers about her father's plan.
In a clever effort to save their homes, the villagers decided to hang up red lanterns all over the place and set off fire crackers. This, the villagers hoped, would make it look like the village was already on fire – and it worked! On the last night of the Lunar New Year, the Jade Emperor saw the village 'burning' and decided not to do anything.
This is why a lot of people also celebrate the last night of Lunar New Year with lanterns and firecrackers.
2. Chinese Valentine's Day.
IMAGE: New Straits Times
Chap Goh Mei is most popular for its reputation as the Chinese version of Valentine's Day.
On the last night of the Lunar New Year, single women write their contact details on a mandarin orange and toss them into a river, lake, or any other body of water with the hopes that their 'Mr Right' will scoop it right up. This would then lead to a happy marriage, or at least, that's how it's supposed to pan out.
These days, the tradition takes on a more modern approach. It's pretty common for women to write their social media handles on the mandarins, so at least they can get to know their potential future husband online first. It's basically Tinder or Bumble but more romanticized.
With COVID-19 still being a thing, though, the act of orange tossing might take on a more muted form this year. Still, there's always next year (assuming things get better).
3. Tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice balls.
IMAGE: Christie At Home
Usually eaten at home or with family members, tangyuan is a Chinese dessert that consists of balls of dough that are made of rice flour and water. They're either boiled or deep-fried and then served in a hot broth or syrup.
Tangyuan also contains various paste fillings that include lotus seed, red bean, sesame, sugarcane rock candy, custard, chopped peanuts with sugar, or even fruit preserves. They can also be eaten with no filling. They're aesthetically pleasing, coming in all sorts of different colors – making a bowl of tangyuan look like a happy rainbow.
The Chinese believe that the round shape of tangyuan symbolizes togetherness, harmony, happiness, and good luck in the new year.
4. Reunion dinner for multi-generational households.
IMAGE: CGTN
It's common for many people to drive or fly back to their hometowns before the Lunar New Year even begins. That's because they want to make it back in time for reunion dinner, which traditionally takes place on Lunar New Year's eve.
However, this tradition is slightly different for families that all live under one roof. Reunion dinner for multi-generational households takes place on Chap Goh Mei itself, the last night of Lunar New Year celebrations.
After all, since these families are already together all year round, they take the last night of Lunar New Year to symbolically strengthen family ties and usher in a harmonious new year together.
Enjoy the last day of the Lunar New Year!
While other Chap Goh Mei traditions may vary depending on where you're celebrating it, the ones listed here should give you a good idea of how people in countries like Malaysia and Singapore get on with the festivities.
Read more life stories:
University students given “hell money” in their ang paos, university apologizes
Malaysia's iconic Thean Hou Temple lights up 6,000 lanterns to usher in CNY
6 Lunar New Year 'rules' to follow when giving and receiving gifts
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