When is chap goh mei celebrated

The day is also known as Yuan Xiao Jie, and is an important festival signifying the end of the Chinese New Year celebrations. New year decorations are normally taken down on this day, and replaced with red lanterns to celebrate the first full moon of the Chinese New Year. Apart from being a big event in China , it is also marked in other Asian countries, including Taiwan , Malaysia and Singapore.

The Star paper in Malaysia explains that legend has it that a "beautiful crane flew down to earth from heaven only to be slaughtered by some villagers". The story continues that the Jade Emperor vowed vengeance on the villagers as it was his favourite crane that they had killed.

Chap Goh Mei is also often regarded as the last day that families can toss yee sang together, with the auspicious act believed to bring booming prosperity in the coming year.

This year though, with Covid guaranteeing that family gatherings are a no-go, many families will forgo the chance to meet up for their own safety. Additionally, devout celebrants will also visit temples to pray to the God of Prosperity, asking that they be bestowed with good fortune in the coming year. Surprisingly though, Chap Goh Mei is not only a Hokkien celebration as some people are led to believe, as the Peranakan community, or Baba Nyonya, also celebrate the day with full gusto.

This is particularly true in Penang, where a large community of Peranakan reside to this day and where festivities of Chap Goh Mei are particularly colourful. While Peranakan celebrations of Chap Goh Mei are similar to that of their Chinese counterparts, there are some differences, mostly in terms of cuisine. For Peranakan households, the serving of bowls upon bowls of rich and delicious bubur cha cha is almost a certainty. Hopefully, by next year, we can emerge stronger.

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We just think this is the best. One of the main activities during Chap Goh Mei is to solve riddles written on lanterns. There are even competitions held in order to see who has the biggest or the most intricate lanterns. On the day of Chap Goh Mei, young singletons would write their name and contact details on mandarin oranges and toss them into the river, hoping that a person of the opposite sex would scoop them up and make contact.