On the fifteenth night of the Chinese New Year, Chap Goh Mei, on the edge of the lakes and the straits of the bay, groups of Malaysians show their hands with lively oranges struck with the sharp scribbles.
Early in the year celebrities frequently send their friends and families oranges (which reflect prosperity in the next year). Across Malaysia, however, individual women co-opt a symbolic orange to help them find love on the last day of celebration. Qualified bachelorettes on Penang Island wrote on rinds and thrown oranges in the water from the late 19th century onwards.
The male supporters were meant to pluck a floating orb and then to find the lady. Initially, individuals carried out this practice to make fate deliver a partner to them, but today people add their phone number or profile on Facebook and seek to get a date. While the custom started in Penang, groups gathered for the annual rite in water bodies all over Malaysia.
Although love is in the air, some people are motivated by a spirit of entrepreneurship, not a romance opportunity. Vendors harvest oranges from the water and then sell them back to interested bachelors in the street – contact information and everything.
Author: Shobana Manokaran
Interesting information....
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