Thanks, John! No, we never take offense at any greeting which wishes us “great happiness and prosperity”! It’s used most often on the first day of Chinese New Year, i.e. 12 Feb, this year, and somewhat tapers off in the subsequent days. But, yes, we still give that greeting up till “Chap Goh Meh”, i.e. 26 Feb.
There are so many things we could not do this year which involved crowds. Last year, Penang has its traditional “Chap Goh Meh” parade, which ended up at the City Hall, drawing thousands of people. Zilch this year.
Some pics from last year, where I was part of the State Chinese Penang Association’s delegation, which has been organizing the annual “Chap Goh Meh” parade since 1925. Since we are the Straits Chinese (i.e. with a hybrid Chinese-Malay culture), our dress differs from the Chinese. These are the women from our association - first picture clad in what Penang-Nyonyas call t’ng sar (called baju panjang in Malacca and Singapore). In the second picture, the women are clad in sarong-kebayas, which is of Indonesian origin but has been adopted by the Straits Chinese in the last 2 centuries to become our own.
The “Chap Goh Meh” crowds at the Penang Esplanade.
