Alright, here we go. My first post that will solely be about Malaysian culture.
Or to be more specific, Malaysian Chinese culture.
For those of you who don’t know, Malaysia is an immensely multicultural and multiracial country. So even though Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly popular in Malaysia as a whole, and many say that it isn’t “our culture”, we actually do have our own variation of Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t, however, fall on the 14th of February.
The Valentine’s Day I’m referring to is Chap Goh Mei, which many people call the Chinese Valentine’s Day. It falls on the 15th night of Chinese New Year, thus marking the end of the much beloved yearly celebration.
So what is it about Chap Goh Mei that makes people refer to it as the Chinese Valentine’s Day?
Well, aside from being held so close to Valentine’s Day, Chap Goh Mei is essentially the day to find your soulmate through oranges.
Cute, isn’t it? That said, I’ve never personally celebrated Chap Goh Mei, nor do I know anyone who has. For starters, I’m a bit on the paranoid side and wouldn’t want some strange person picking up my orange (more on this shortly). Secondly, my Malaysian home isn’t close to any place where this celebration would be held, so I can’t participate in it or even watch it without a lot of extra effort involved. Thirdly, it is a tradition that is dying out.
But that is neither here nor there. The point of this post is to learn about this fascinating matchmaking tradition, so let’s!
Some background
Chap Goh Mei, which started in Penang, is an ancient tradition where single women would throw oranges into the lake, sea or river in hopes of marrying a good husband.
And as with many celebrations, there are lots of stories and legends about Chap Goh Mei. One of them is that during ancient times, young girls were not allowed to go out except on Chap Goh Mei when they could visit temples. Even then, they were not allowed to go unattended and had to be chaperoned by their maids. For the guys, this was a good chance for them to catch a glimpse of the girls.
With the emergence of technology and the changing of times, however, this ancient tradition is, as mentioned, slowly dying out. Don’t despair, though, because it is still very much alive in certain parts of Malaysia. Plus, it has come to be viewed as not only a way to find your soulmate, but also a time to write down your wishes and a great way to get together with friends!
And since this is Malaysia, some of those who join in on the festivities are non-Chinese. 🙂
The tradition
To get into the specifics, Malaysian Chinese women write down their phone numbers or, in order to keep up with the times, their Facebook profiles or Instagram handles on oranges. Once that is done, they toss their scribbled on oranges into the water.
The men then fish the oranges out of the water, before proceeding to contact the woman that is affiliated to the orange. If all goes well, a romance would blossom and last for the rest of their lives.
Sounds simple, no? It does, but there is actually more to it than simply writing down your details on the orange and tossing it into the water. In order to maximise your chances of finding the right partner, you have to take feng shui into account–which is why you have to keep up with feng shui analyses and find out where exactly you should face before tossing your orange.
As if that isn’t confusing enough, the day that Chap Goh Mei falls on also matters i.e. some days are “luckier” than others.
The same goes for the time of day or night you choose to toss your orange, and even the year that you were born in. For example, those who were born under the Dragon zodiac sign might benefit more than others during a certain year.
Still, there isn’t any harm in giving the tradition a go. Some people join in on the fun anyway even if luck isn’t in their favour!
Fun(?) fact: Some vendors take advantage of the celebration by scooping up the oranges and selling them–numbers and all–to interested bachelors.
Will Chap Goh Mei get a 21st century makeover?
It has been suggested that social media is used instead in order to avoid wastage and littering. Who knows? One day, Chap Goh Mei might go fully digital, with hopefuls posting their photos with oranges on social media in order to find their Mr Right.
For now, though, you can still very much do it the ancient, traditional way.
Where you can see this tradition
In Malaysia? As far as I know, you can check out the Chap Goh Mei festivities at the following locations:
- Esplanade, George Town, Penang (Chap Goh Mei is a major celebration here)
- Thean Hou Temple, Kuala Lumpur
- Taman Jaya Lake, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
- Rivers in Klang
Interestingly enough, Chap Goh Mei is only found in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, to be precise) with Malaysia being its birth place. It is virtually unheard of in Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
So what do you think? Is this something you’d be interested in? I’d personally love the chance to witness this celebration, so I might just do that the next time I’m in Malaysia for Chinese New Year.
