GEORGETOWN, March 5 – Every year of Chap Goh Meh, there was up to hundreds people will throw mandarin orange at Esplanade. In China, Chap Goh Meh is also known as “Lantern Festival” or “Yuan Xiao” – an occasion that also gives young unmarried women and men the chance to go out in groups to check each other out, with hopes of finding love, while watching lanterns light up the night sky. According to a Taoist tradition, the 15th day of the first lunar month corresponds to the “Official of Heaven”, who enjoys bright and joyful objects, so colourful lanterns are hung on display for the official’s pleasure.
On this day, people also solve riddles written on the lanterns, a tradition passed down from the Tang Dynasty, and eat glutinous rice balls named after the festival. Closer to home, Penangites have grown up hearing the stories of how beautifully dressed single women would be allowed to go out of their homes that one evening on Chap Goh Mei to celebrate the festival. But whether originally from ancient China, or having a more contemporary beginning, the tangerine-tossing remains a popular one in this state.
The Penang government, which is throwing its annual Chap Goh Meh party at the Esplanade this evening, says it expects some 20,000 people to attend the event, which will feature tangerine-tossing. There will be a slight twist this year, with the fun activity also doubling up as a fundraiser for the local Lions Club, said state tourism exco Danny Law Heng Kiang. “People can buy tangerines at RM1 each. The money goes to the club, which will decide how best to use the funds collected for charity,” he said recently. The festival this year will also feature local celebrities along with Singaporean actors from the hit movie “Ah Boys to Men: Frogmen”.
There will also be cultural shows, a lion dance on stilts and a 10-minute firework display sponsored by the Penang Chinese Chambers of Commerce, which Law hopes would be the most spectacular fireworks display of the year. Since the event was also called Lantern Festival, he said about 150 lanterns would also decorate the Esplanade. For the event, Jalan Padang Kota Lama will be sealed off from 6am to midnight while Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah will be closed to traffic from 2pm onwards.
