Today a lion came into our office.
He marched to the middle of our pantry where a platter of fruits and vegetables was laid out for him on the floor. He was accompanied by the sound of the drums.
The entire platter went into his mouth and he lay down on the floor for quite some time. In my four years in Singapore, this was my first time to witness a lion dance so I wondered what he was doing. Is he okay? Did he get an indigestion from eating all those fruits? My colleagues and I asked each other, like we were actually treating this “lion” as a real lion! Haha.
Then his trainor told our big boss to stand in front of the lion and get ready to catch the mandarin orange he would spit up. She readied herself and sure enough, the lion “spit out” an orange which she managed to catch.
After a few more minutes of lying down on the floor as the drums kept on playing, the lion suddenly jumped up and left these on the floor:
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| Auspicious numbers? |
Then he left the pantry and danced all over the floor, scattering blessings. (I think.)
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| Help! Lion on the loose! |
Shortly after the lion left the premises, we were once again called into the pantry, this time for the “lo hei.” We do this every year so this was not new to us, but this time around, they actually explained the significance of the ingredients we were tossing.
The tradition of Lo Hei or Lo Sheng stems from the phrase’s Cantonese meaning of ‘tossing up good fortune’ using Yu Sheng or Fish Salad that symbolises ‘an abundance of wealth and long life’. The word hei or ‘rise’ is in reference to a thriving business and thus, its popularity with businessmen during the New Year. Consisting of white and green radish, carrots, capsicum, turnips, red pickled ginger and such, this dish is usually served as an appetiser where families and friends gather to toss the ingredients while saying auspicious well wishes out loud to bring in good luck. It is also believed that the higher you toss, the greater your fortunes will be.
Meaning of Ingredients:
The raw fish is added, symbolizing abundance and excess through the year. 年年有余 (Nian Nian You Yu) meaning “Abundance through the year”, as the word “fish” in Mandarin also sounds like “Abundance”.
The pomelo or lime is added to the fish, adding luck and auspicious value. 大吉大利 Da Ji Da Li meaning “Good luck and smooth sailing”
Pepper is then dashed over in the hope of attracting more money and valuables. 招财进宝 Zhao Cai Jin Bao meaning “Attract wealth and treasures”
Then oil is poured out, circling the ingredients and encouraging money to flow in from all directions. 一本万利 Yi Ben Wan Li meaning “Make 10,000 times of profit with your capital” 财源广进 Cai Yuan Guang Jin meaning “Numerous sources of wealth”
Carrots are added indicating blessings of good luck. 鸿运当头 Hong Yun Dang Tou meaning “Good luck is approaching”. Carrot (红萝卜) is used as the first character 鸿 also sound like the Chinese character for red.
Then the shredded green radish is placed symbolising eternal youth. 青春常驻 Qing Chun Chang Zhu meaning “Forever young”. Green radish is used as the first character 青 also sound like the Chinese character for green.
After which the shredded white radish is added – prosperity in business and promotion at work. 风生水起 Feng Sheng Shui Qi meaning “Progress at a fast pace” 步步高升 Bu Bu Gao Sheng meaning “Reaching higher level with each step”
The condiments are finally added. First, peanut crumbs are dusted on the dish, symbolizing a household filled with gold and silver. 金银满屋 Jin Yin Man Wu meaning “Household filled with gold and silver” Sesame seeds quickly follow symbolising a flourishing business. 生意兴隆 Sheng Yi Xing Long meaning “Prosperity for the business” Deep-fried flour crisps in the shape of golden pillows is then added with wishes that literally the whole floor would be filled with gold. 满地黄金 Man Di Huang Jin meaning “Floor full of gold.”
After we were done mixing everything we then proceeded to toss the ingredients as high as we could, yelling “huat ah!” and all our other auspicious wishes. Then we ate the yu sheng.
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| “Lo Hei” |
When we got back to our workstations, our bosses handed us each an ang bao (packet) with some money inside. We also had mandarins (two for yin and yang) and gold coin chocolates.
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| Ang bao, mandarins, and gold coin chocolates for good luck |
Happy Chinese New Year everyone! 🙂
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