Chap Goh Meh, in Hokkien, translated as the ‘fifteenth night’ marks the last day of the 15-day Chinese New Year festival. It is also celebrated as the Chinese Valentine’s Day, where young maidens practise the tradition (supposedly originating from Penang), of throwing mandarin oranges into the water in hope that they will be found by their true love.
red lanterns lit up along the side of the lake
Last night, thousands gathered at the Taman Jaya lake in Petaling Jaya to celebrate this occasion. Lion dances followed by cultural and singing performances occupied the centre stage, after which single ladies and men performed several activities in search of finding their perfect match. Entertaining matchmaking games were also hosted, in attempt to bring together young individuals.
the Big Head Buddha getting ready to tease the lions with the fan
Orange Throwing
oranges for sale
single ladies …. as well as young men write their name and contact details on the oranges
here come the fishing bachelors
scooping out an orange from the water with an ‘improvised fishing net’
passing on the catch for safekeeping
an orange let out from a fishing net… falling into the hands of a lucky lad
Wishing Boats
wishing boats available at RM3
lighting up creative selfmade floating boats
sailing away…
Wishing Tree
writing a wish note to hang on the tree …. with some leaving their mobile number too!
couples put up their wish…
… while singles hunt for details of a potential partner
the full moon on the night of Chap Goh Meh
I enjoyed reading the tradition you guys are have. Looks fun, specially the orange throwing. Ü
Btw, i like your night shots.
This is so interesting… especially the fishing net and the ‘improvised’ fishing net. Haha
I’ve never been to any Chap Goh Meh festival.
interesting!
Wah… a lot of people go there as well.
I wonder if boy or girl obtain the orange… will they call the number ???
Didn’t know that we actually allowed them to throw the oranges into the river. Did you throw one too? Wonder if anyone actually call the numbers written on the oranges …
Haha..people are still throwing mandarins into the lake huh! Pollution and a wastage of oranges.
chyng: yup the people seem to be having lots of fun… still need to improve on my flash night photography
che-cheh: yea this is the first time i’m witnessing the tradition too… we are supposedly encouraged to carry on this tradition – i was quite amazed with the enthusiasm.
CHVoon, Ian : i really think they do call the number. loads of ppl are checking out numbers from the wishing tree as well – they look like they are storing the numbers in the phone. and some ladies have bags of oranges. Ian: I didn’t throw an orange but i did make put up a wish on the wishing tree.
Mei Teng: i was actually wondering who cleans up the mess the next day… hopefully most of the oranges would have been fished out!
Wah….RM2 for 1 oren….mahalnya. Sure they earn big $…hehe!
uLi: yea… wasn’t sure if it goes to any charity proceeds. most ppl bring a bag of oranges with them – prob those leftover or about to ‘expire’ from CNY.
heee, i have never been b4 on chap goh meh and how it looks like on throwing oranges..i think should go already next year seen you capture all the nice pics~
Who says you can’t take night shots? They look pretty darn good to me
taufulou: should go at least once – i was quite surprised that people were really enjoying themselves!
bazli: hey… you shouldn’t have left Taman Jaya so early… it got more interesting as the crowd poured in later in the night.
wow… this one made me smile for some reason!
cool way to let the universe find a match for you.
I should be there next year. hahahaha
Looks like the orange fever has spread to PJ too. It certainly is a lot of fun.
Nice pic!!! Anyone throwing banana tat night?
Ron: haha yea.. remember to bring a fishing net too!
Autumn Belle: Do they do this Klang too?
Rachel: didn’t see anyone throwing banana… (the guys seemed to be throwing oranges too) but I think someone found one and passed it to the host coz he was holding one up with a number and name written on it.
This is kinda fun. I never knew such celebration existed but its so unique. I love how you captured it.
First time reading a blog coverage on Chap Goh Meh. LOVE IT! Funny looking fishing nets – a combination of broom stick and ’sao kei’.
One question….Do you eat the oranges after the ceremony? or throw it away?
Cheers!
mylo
this is an awesome post. i have heard about this but to actually the pics.. wow
nice set but kinda dark… maybe can brighten some of the photos up
happy belated cny! haha
Weekend Haven, beng beng: i always heard about the tradition but this is my first time witnessing it myself
mylo: good question. personslly if it were me, i wouldn’t eat it… the lake water is not the cleanest and i wouldn’t take the chance eating the orange. one thing for sure is they’ll take down the details written on the orange!
henry: thanks for the feedback – will make a mental note on it. the first and last photo was taken without a tripod so it’s pretty dark…
Ah… now they have something call wishing boat. Happy CNY!
wow nice pictures!! erm wishing boat?? nice idea!!! but sigh…8yrs already havent got the chance to celebrate cny in malaysia ><
It is very interesting to know the custome about throwing the mandarin oranges. I have seen the wishing boats and wishing tree, but not the oranges custome, so interesting!
Ahh thought of stopping by but ended up eating dinner instead
Looks interesting, the boats will make for nice pictures but since its a lake, how far can they float? 
wilson: yea.. some buy the ready made ones for sale.. others make their own out of paper, plastic, tupperware etc…
fufu: explore the world while u can… mebbe one of the years u can plan to come back during CNY…. or after ur exploration u can come back and spend all ur CNYs back home?
micki: the oranges custom seems to be a malaysian chinese thing that started from the north
Nicholas: i left at about 10 , there were still ppl filling in and it was packed… think most ppl drop by after dinner. the boats… til the other end of the lake or rather any side of the lake heh…
Did you throw your orange too???
A romantic Chap Goh Meh night, orange throwing, wishing floating boats and wishing trees are both good chinese tranditions! ^.^
Those wishing boats were crazy?!
1. They were over-priced.
2. They were bad to the environment.
People should make their own boats using banana leaves? Ha ha…
Re:Chinese New Year in London / 伦敦的春节 / Tahun Baru Cina di London / ロンドンのお正月
Yes, London’s Chinese New Year celebration is getting slightly better than the year before.
RE: 4 and Brollies / 4和雨伞 / 4 dan Payung / ４と傘
That was only a temporary installation.
I wonder if they return those brollies to London Transport? Ha ha…
zzkang: nope din throw orange.. it feels a bit like litterling.. but i did hang a note up on the wishing tree
Rafael: yea… the tradition lives on. actually it’s encouraged yearly to gather and carry on the tradition
londoncaller: yup not friendly envionmentally … haha using leaves is an idea… and i also hope it gets cleaned up
hope your wish will comes true ASAP..
Woah. I was able to hear about this chap goh meh when I was in Malaysia. They even joked that women throw bad husband to get good oranges.
Malaysia is always so filled with rich Chinese culture. How I envy it as I don’t get to experience that much chinese practices despite me being a half tiong kok lang myself.
Photoblogger: now that’s one i have not heard of – throwing husbands haha. so u’ve come to malaysia before.. which parts did u visit? yes there are quite a significant population of malaysian chinese here… so some of the culture still lives on. and u know a bit of hokkien too being half chinese?