Happy Chap Goh Meh (15th Night)

February 26th marked the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year and end of the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations.

Now, I am the first to admit that my knowledge of this important holiday has been woefully limited to, “Um, I think it’s the year of the (fill-in-the-blank).” Fortunately, our friend Patrick, aka the Patron Saint of Educating Clumsy Americans, came to the rescue.

Chinese New Year has been a time to honor both traditional deities as well as familial ancestors, with an emphasis on family togetherness. It is a time to usher in prosperity and good fortune in the coming year, something we could use a triple dose of this year.

In typical years, Chinese families would jet off to visit relatives and enjoy large, festive gatherings abroad and here at home. This year, everyone stayed put and followed government guidelines that limited gatherings to eight people a day.

Leading up to Chinese New Year, the days are filled with housecleaning, refreshing wardrobes, and personal grooming – haircuts, manis/pedis, and the like. Homes and buildings are decorated with pussy willows, symbolizing growth and prosperity, and bright splashes of red, the good luck color. Hong bao, or red envelopes, are filled with crisp new banknotes to give to children, singles, team members, and home helpers.

On Chinese New Year’s Eve, families head home for a grand meal, similar to North American Thanksgiving. The next several days are for visiting relatives. For business, this also means lunches and dinners with clients and associates. The seventh day is “everyone’s birthday,” stemming from the days when birthdates were not recorded, and so everyone turned one year older on the same day. The last day marks the first full moon of the lunar new year and, in Singapore, is sort of like Valentine’s Day for singles hoping for Cupid’s arrow to strike.

We were invited to several Chinese New Year gatherings this year, and let’s just say, it’s all about the food. It is customary to bring two mandarin oranges, also symbolizing good luck, for one’s hosts. We devoured signature dishes, like steamboat, a boiling pot of soup stock where everyone adds the ingredients – meats, seafood, vegetables, noodles and dumplings.

Unique to Singapore and Malaysia is lohei, a “prosperity salad” containing 28 ingredients. There is high drama in preparing the lohei, as the host adds each ingredient and utters symbolic phrases. Those gathered then toss the salad and share auspicious well wishes to usher in good luck, such as “Gong Xi Fa Cai” or “Congratulations on your wealth.”

Did I mention pastries? I quickly claimed my favorite, the pineapple tart. Or the Bak Wa? This is basically like beef jerky, and super delicious.

We spent our 15th Night with new friends Karl and Basma, attending a musical (yes, live theater; thank you, Singapore) called The Amazing Celestial Race at Wild Rice Theatre, followed by dinner at New Ubin Seafood (yum). We humored our wait staff as we recited the order of the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse (my sign), Goat (Tom’s sign), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

With Chinese New Year celebrations over, let us embrace all signs of hope. I’m thinking of family, good health, and the vaccine.

Happy Year of the Ox!

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