2024 Chap Goh Meh activities

Today's the 15th day of Chinese New Year. Chap Goh Meh to the Hokkien community in Penang. As usual, I spent my time at the Swee Cheok Tong for the annual worship of the deities, principal among them being Tai Tay Eah. This year, I had to provide additional support to the Trustee that had always been responsible for our worship sessions. He had just had three stents put into him in the first week of Chinese New Year! Anyway, there I was at the Kongsi to oversee the burning of the gold jossip papers for the deities and silver joss papers for the ancestors. And then there was the packing up of the worship food items to ensure that those who turned up for the worship could collect their share. I shall be very glad when my Trustee returns to full strength in time for the third lunar month worship of Tai Tay Eah's birthday.

My Chap Goh Meh is also normally spent with a visit to the Poh Hock Seah (寶福社) temple in Armenian Street after clearing the foodstuff at the Kongsi. I've been doing this annually for quite some time now. The stroll from Carnarvon Lane to Armenian Street is a short one but lately, the heat has been very unrelenting. Despite sheltering from the midday sun by walking in the shade, being out in this weather makes me very tired indeed, My routine is to burn a bunch of joss sticks at the Poh Hock Seah, calling on Tua Pek Kong to bestow good fortune on me and my family. The previous night, the deity had been taken on a procession to the Hai Choo Soo (Tanjong Tokong Tua Pek Kong) (海珠嶼大伯公廟) temple for the annual flame watching ceremony. The return journey was made on Chap Goh Meh morning itself, and I had missed it by about an hour because I was still at the Kongsi. Come to think of it, I have only managed to meet the returning Tua Pek Kong once in the last 20 years or so. 

But actually, this year's Chap Goh Meh proved to be a little different from past years. Some of my former colleagues from the old Ban Hin Lee Bank days decided to have a small get-together at the Gudang Cafe in Armenian Street Ghaut. That was where I proceeded after my visit to the Poh Hock Seah: to join up with Daphne Saw, Wong Yuen Chee and H'ng Boon Hock, the latter two turning up with their wives. We spent some two hours regaling ourselves with old stories and gossips about our banking days, and good food too. Yes, the company was good.