Thousands celebrate ‘Ren Ri’

The more, the merrier: Participants tossing ‘yee sang’ at Tow Boo Kong Temple in Jalan Raja Uda, Butterworth.

BUTTERWORTH: According to an ancient Chinese myth, the goddess Nuwa was once the only being in the world.

In her loneliness, the goddess began creating living beings: chic­kens on the first day, dogs on the second and sheep on the third.

This was followed by boars, cows and horses on the fourth, fifth and sixth days respectively.

On the seventh day, Nuwa ga­­thered yellow clay and began sha­ping it into her likeness. When the clay came to life, she gave it the ability to procreate.

It is on account of this myth dating back to 300BC that the Chinese observe the seventh day of the Chinese New Year as Ren Ri, or “everybody’s birthday”.

Thousands of people celebrated the event on Thursday at Tow Boo Kong Temple in Butterworth.

The highlight was a mass yee sang tossing session.

The traditional dish, made up of 15 ingredients such as carrots, white radish, ginger, roasted peanuts and sesame paste among others, was served on a 210m-long table at the temple in Jalan Raja Uda.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also the Bagan MP, graced the event.

The festive atmosphere was apparent with people crying “Heng ah! Ong ah! Huat ah!” (meaning fortune, luck and wealth in Hok­kien) as they tossed the ingredients.

There was also a dazzling fireworks display.

Organising chairman Ng Hon Fai said the event had been held an­­nually since 2012 and the crowd had increased tremendously over the years.

He said the event was organised by the temple and sponsored by Tah Wah Group and MBI Group with the support of the state.

Organising secretary Philip Goh thanked the crowd for the huge turnout.

He promised an even grander celebration next year with the completion of the new temple building.

Among those present were state exco members Lim Hock Seng and Phee Boon Poh, as well as Tah Wah Group managing director Datuk Seri Hong Yeam Wah.

Also among the crowd was businessman Kong Siew Kang, 55, who travelled to Penang with his family from Ipoh, Perak, after learning about the event from friends.

“What a grand celebration for Ren Ri.

“I will make it a point to come back again next year with more of my relatives,” he said.