Chap Goh Meh

Today is Chap Goh Meh, the 15th day of the Chinese New Year. In the olden days, this was a real festive delight where damsels were allowed out of their houses dressed in their finery and costume. Young eligible bachelors had a field day to admire them from afar. On the night of this full moon day, the damsels would have an excuse to throw oranges into the rivers or sea in the hope of landing a good catch. Well, they must have something to do, don't they, other than just parading around town? Prospective admirers would follow from a respectful distance to see where they stayed. If they were lucky, their households would soon be receiving visits from matchmakers and thus, resulting in fruitful lifelong partnerships. Modern-day girls are more daring. The young women now write their contact numbers on the oranges. What's more, with permanent indelible ink. This removes all the allure and romance from a Chap Goh Meh courtship. Where's the traditional fun when the women are the ones pushing?

Today is also the 80th anniversary of the British surrender in Singapore to the invading Japanese military, thus sparking off three and a half years of Japanese rule and atrocities. This took place on 15 February 1942 and it completed the rout of the British army in the Malayan peninsula which began with the landing of Japanese troops on the shores of Kelantan on 8 December 1941.