Friday, February 14, 2014

Valentine's Day and Chap Goh Mei - Double Celebration today

Today is Valentine's Day, so Happy Valentine's to you..

Google commemorates Valentine's Day 2014 with this interactive doodle..

Today is also a day of celebration for the Chinese community. After the past 14 days of festivities and merry-making ushering in the new year, all that will end tonight on this 15th day of the new lunar year.

In the Teochew and Fujian communities, it is called Chap Goh Meh which literally translates to "15th night". It is also known as Lantern Festival though not to be confused with that of the Mooncake Festival celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.

So Happy Chap Goh Meh to you..

Today, also being known as the Chinese Valentine's Day, tradition holds that this is the night where maidens go to the river or lake to toss oranges with the hope of getting hitched. In contemporary times, technology advancement has notched it up a little where you'd find oranges bearing contact information. Oh yes, here in Malaysia it is still practised. If you are in the Klang Valley, head on over to the lake in Petaling Jaya (near A&W I think) and if you are in Penang, the Esplanade is the place to catch the oranges.

Gong Xi Fa Cai again and may the Year of the Horse be a better year for you! (The Year of the Horse is from Jan 31, 2014, to Feb 18, 2015. The Year of the Goat takes over on Feb 19, 2015, a Thursday, another Fire element year.)


** Friday Frolics comes on next..

1 comment:

  1. Don't believe in Valentine's Day, but Happy Valentine's Day to you anyway! : )

    ReplyDelete