Feng shui master: Toss your oranges for Mr Right before 9pm

Young and single people would toss mandarin oranges into the pond during Chap Goh Meh in the hope of finding their life partners. — Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: No need to look for love in all the wrong places anymore. Feng shui master Jessie Lee will tell you exactly where, and when, to go. Or, in this case, where and when to throw.

Tomorrow is Chap Goh Meh, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day, when young single women throw mandarin oranges inscribed with their names and (these days) telephone numbers into rivers and lakes in the hope of finding their true love.

Lee said mandarin oranges should be tossed while facing the south-east.

“The best time to toss the mandarin oranges is from 5.30pm until 8.59pm. You can make your wishes before you throw your mandarin orange,” she said.

If you miss the 9pm deadline, it would be best not to throw the fruit as the right time would have passed, she added.

Animal signs that would benefit most on that day are the Monkey, Rooster and Ox, Lee said.

“The Horse, too, has a good chance of finding someone during the event or getting to know someone while participating in the ritual,” she said.

The Pig would not benefit directly from throwing the mandarin oranges this year as the zodiac sign clashes with the energy of the day, but Lee suggests attending the ritual and asking someone else to throw the mandarin oranges for you.

Chap Goh Meh is Hokkien for “the 15th night” of the first lunar month. The tradition of mandarin orange tossing was said to be practised by the Hokkiens in southern China during the 19th century.

In Malaysia, the tossing of mandarin oranges is a popular event, with men also joining in the fun and throwing bananas sometimes.

Entrepreneur Vanessa Yoong, 43, used to observe the ritual back then and she felt it is quaint that the tradition is still observed.

“It does not necessarily mean that you will find love; that’s up to destiny.”

Producer Excella Chong, 30, said she received a lot of calls from participating in mandarin orange tossing years ago but never found her “Mr Right”.

The singleton, who was Miss Petite Malaysia World 2015 second runner-up, will join a group of friends to throw some mandarin oranges in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

Last year, insurance agent Roy Liew, 27, went with another male friend to a mandarin orange-throwing event for the first time.

His other single male friends were reluctant to go as they did not want to appear “desperate for love”.

Liew did not get wet wading in the lake to collect oranges thrown by the girls.

“I decided it would be more convenient to march up to a group of girls nearby and get their contacts,” he said, adding that he would attend the carnival-like event again tomorrow.