TO commemorate the Year of the Snake, a massive 210m-long table featured yee sang arranged in serpentine curves at Tow Boo Keong Temple in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang.
At 9.15pm, there were shouts of “Heng ah! Ong ah! Huat ah!” (meaning fortune, luck and wealth in Hokkien), and participants tossed the ‘snaky’ yee sang to symbolise a rising fortune.
Event organising chairman Tang Khay Kooi, 50, said the temple had been hosting an annual mass lou sang session since 2012, celebrating “Ren Ri” – the seventh day of Chinese New Year, which is also regarded as “Everyone’s Birthday”.
“The tables were laid out with yee sang ingredients and everyone was invited to join in the tossing to welcome the new year together,” he said.
With over 1,000 lanterns of various sizes adorning the temple premises, the night was enlivened with song-and-dance performances, leading up to a spectacular fireworks display.
Among those in the crowd were four generations of a family from Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan.
Factory worker Tan Soon Heng, 52, said he decided to celebrate with his 79-year-old mother, wife, children and grandchildren after hearing about the event.
“We drove up in the morning for some sightseeing in Penang.
“This is our first time celebrating ‘Ren Ri’ in Penang.
“We prayed at the temple for good health and peace for the family,” he said.
Also present at the event were Sungai Puyu assemblyman Phee Syn Tze and Consul-General of China in Penang Zhou Youbin.
Temple committee members leading the mass lou sang at Tow Boo Kong Temple with guests Phee (sixth from left) and Zhou (ninth from left). — Photos: LIM BENG TATT/The Star
Children in traditional Chinese outfits entertaining the crowd with a dance number.
Devotees preparing the ‘snaky’ yee sang.
Spectacular fireworks after the tossing of yee sang.
Tan (right) with his family.
