It is customary for friends to exchange gifts for the Chinese New Year, especially when we visit one another. It is usual to take mandarin oranges and a couple of other things such as cookies, groundnuts, etc.
Each gift has a symbolic meaning. Oranges symbolise good luck & prosperity, groundnuts, longetivity while pineapple tarts, good luck. Pineapple in Chinese is "ong lai" literally meaning "good luck comes".
We are taking a bag of gifts for my daughter-in-law-to-be's parents when we meet tonight for dinner.
In the bag are two containers of arrowhead (ngah koo) crisps, two tins of pineapple, two tins of abalone, a basket of Chinese round flower mushrooms, a packet of bah kwa (barbecued chicken meat slices)and eight mandarin oranges.
Things are usually given in pairs and why eight oranges? Eight is an auspicious number.
Chinese people appreciate gifts that are auspicious in numbers and that have symbolic meaning.
Tonight's dinner is special as it is the food-tasting dinner, a preview of the wedding menu so to speak. The restaurant will serve the dishes that have been offered in the menu selected by my son and his fiancee, so both sets of parents together with the young couple will taste the food to see if it is up to our expectations.
I'm really looking forward to it as I have only a vague idea of what is on the menu. Besides that, there will be a discussion between the parents regarding the bethrothal gifts and the wedding itself. Some traditional wedding customs have to be followed and this meeting is to agree upon which ones we will adhere to.
The Chinese of different dialects have different wedding customs as well. I believe the bride's parents are Hokkiens and so am I but my spouse is Cantonese. So we will have to wait and see which customs will be followed.
I'll keep you posted of the developments so do come back and visit!
The restaurant will serve the ddicas de presentes criativos dishes that have been offered in the menu selected by my son and his fiancee,
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