Chap Goh Meh
On the 15th day of Chinese Lunar year, Chinese community in Penang celebrated
Chap Goh Meh. According to legend, this fascinating festival tells a story of a
lonely young man who during his first outing saw one of the most beautiful women
his sights ever laid on. He was immediately enraptures by her stunning looks.
Despite the excitement and exhilaration pounding in his heart, the young man
quickly jotted down the number of her car. On the very next day, he made a
search and enquiries on which this car belongs to. When he got to know the
address, he quickly asks his mother to send a matchmaker to his dream girl's
home to arrange the marriage.
In such haste and without investigation, the young man did not realize that the
beautiful girl he had seen that day was actually not the daughter of the house
but a visiting niece. And so on his wedding day, the poor groom found that
instead of looking at the radiant smiling girl he had expected, he was to be
married to her fat and rather plain cousin. The story does have a rather happy
ending though, as his wife was a wealthy woman!
Chap Goh Meh in Mandarin was called Yuan Xiao, but in the traditional Hokkien
dialect of Penang, Chap Goh Meh means the 15th night of Chinese New Year. It is
celebrated with prayers and offerings to mark the end of the Chinese New Year.
During this auspicious occasion, houses are brightly decorated with lights and
lanterns are hung over the balcony or five-foot ways for the last day of the
Chinese New Year. Prayers to the ancestors are offered. Despite a ban,
firecrackers are lit as a 'send-off' to the New Year. The next day, people go
back to work, businesses operate as usual and everyone is looking forward to the
next Chinese New Year.
Various activities are planned to mark this very traditional occasion but the
two mainstays are the Dondang Sayang and orange/tangerine throwing ceremony. In
the morning, nyonya households will distribute pengat, a sweet and rich broth of
tubers and bananas to relatives and friends.
As evening falls, the atmosphere relaxes as the gentle strains of Dondang Sayang
fill the air. Dondang Sayang, which means "lullaby of love", is interplay of
sung poetry, usually revolving around the theme of love, between a man and a
woman, trying to outwit each other in the name of affection whilst traditional
music plays in the background.
In the past, Chap Goh Meh was one of the few occasions where eligible young
ladies, transformed into scorching beauties, were allowed out from the confines
of their homes. Eager gentlemen could only admire longingly at all the passing
beauties, as the lovely ladies were always accompanied by an entourage of the
fiercest looking aunts and amahs (servants)! These young maidens (and spinsters)
would throw oranges into the sea as a gesture of hope to wed good husbands.
To keep this quaint tradition alive in modern times, orange throwing has
transformed into a competition of sorts, where oranges thrown into the sea by
girls (single or otherwise) would be scooped up by boys in boats. The boat with
most oranges would be declared the winner.
So, if you're coming to Penang during this occasion, don't forget to drop by at
the esplanade where the yearly orange throwing competition is being held. You
can also participate in the competition if you like.
For location and other information about the event, visit www.visitpenang.gov.my.
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