Chap Goh Meh

I've never attended any tossing-of-mandarin-oranges event before.

Back in those days, single maidens threw the mandarin oranges into the river, on the 15th day of the lunar new year, hoping that the gentleman who scoops them up, some where along the river, would be destined to be their future husband. These days, we find our own destiny. Single women write their names and contact numbers onto the mandarin oranges and throw them in the direction of the men of their choice. The men would eventually scoop them up, hoping that the woman that they called would be on the good looking side. Even if they didn't end up as lovers, they would still be friends.

This year, out of curiosity (and no, it's not out of desperation), I've attended one of those events at the nearby lake. It was full of people. Lovers enjoying the roses and the heart-shaped balloons. Friends enjoying the food stalls, the games and the wishing candles. Families were just there for the fun and the atmosphere.

The most crowded place was definitely the fountain side, where they had a stage for performances, lion dance shows and games. And so I jostled my way to the front of the lake to participate in the event. I'd planned to toss a few oranges, with my number on them, into the fountain and wait for some guy to scoop them up and contact me. Just like the age old culture, but with a modern twist.

What a disappointment it turned out to be. Entirely not the scene that I thought it would be. First, not many oranges were being tossed into the fountain. And I can clearly see why. The men were not outside of the fountain scooping them. They were in the fountain, picking them up. And the ones that went in were mostly middle-aged men, with huge bellies and their hair dyed gold. Second, they brought huge sacks with them to collect the oranges. For resale I presume. And thirdly, not only were oranges being tossed into the fountain, bananas were being tossed as well. Oranges representing females, bananas representing males. The concept was so wrong and it was a total eyesore.

If you'd want to know, I didn't toss my oranges in. This would be my first and my last time attending such an event. Enough for me.