KUCHING: Today Chinese of various dialect groups celebrate Chap Goh Mei, which is known as marking the end of the Lunar New Year celebration.
Just like Chinese New Year eve, on this day all family members would also gather in the evening to have a special dinner together.
Not to forget, it is also celebrated with beautiful fireworks and loud firecrackers at night. Houses too will be decorated with bright red lanterns lights.
In Sarawak, not only the Chinese celebrates Chap Goh Mei. By the dinner table, you’ll see that interracial marriage has brought people of different backgrounds joining the celebration.
Here, Sarawak Teochew Sim Association second vice-president Sim Kiang Chiok has shared how the Teochew in Sarawak celebrate the occasion.
“Our family is the fifth generation of Teochew in Sarawak and we have kept the tradition of celebrating alive,” he said.
According to him, the celebration starts with ancestor worshipping and praying at the temple during the day.
“Being in the retail business, our shops are open but it will be closed by noon. And we will usually let off firecrackers for good luck and make sure to turn on the Chinese lanterns in the evening,” he said.
On this day, Sim said a family dinner with parents and children is a must.
“Years ago, there would be a special meal prepared by my mother. Nowadays we usually have the dinner at a restaurant as it is much convenient that way.”
“Family gathering is important to us as there is always never enough time to bond and catch with family members,” he said.
He said fireworks would stop once the clock strikes midnight, while some would continue to wine and dine, and play card game till the wee hours.
Chap Goh Mei then and now
Sim said in China, this tradition was interrupted since communism took over after the Second World War, and revisited in the early 90s when China relaxed the rules.
“Their celebration is much similar to ours, if not more elaborate with their bigger spending power,” he said.
He said what the overseas Chinese have done is that they have helped to preserve their traditions and cultures from the communist rule of the past.
“Today we can see almost all traditional celebrations held by overseas Chinese will also be celebrated in China, with the exception of the Hungry Ghost. Very few people in China observe this celebration,” he said.
Teochews and their ‘Yeun’
Sim said for the Teochews, the main highlight of the celebration the family gathering.
He said the difference between the Teochews and the other Chinese community is that during the dinner there is the eating of the glutinous rice ball which in Teochew dialect is called ‘Yuen’.
“This Yuen eating during Chap Goh Mei dinner is practised by the southern Chinese, the Teochews among them; while the Northern Chinese prefer dumplings.
“Glutinous rice ball symbolises good family values, unity and happiness,” he said.
Preserving the traditions
To keep any tradition alive is to keep practising it with all family members, Sim stressed.
He said it important for the Teochew community and the other communities alike to ensure that culture and tradition of one race or ethnic group is passed down from one generation to the next.
“The elders leading the young will ensure the good tradition will be kept alive and handed down to the future generations,” he said.
