Chap Goh Mei

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Tzap Goh Mei represents the fifteenth and final day of the Lunar New Year period as celebrated by Chinese migrant communities. The term is from the Hokkien dialect and literally means the fifteenth day of the first month.

It is the occasion of the first full moon of the New Year.

The occasion is marked by feasting and various festivities, including the consuption of Tangyuan. In traditional Chinese culture, it is also celebrated as the Lantern Festival or the Shang Yuan Festival. In Southeast Asia, however, it coincides with the Chinese Valentine's Day, when young unmarried women gather to toss tangerines into the sea, in a hope that their future spouse will pick it up - a custom that originated in Penang, Malaysia. In the past, this is also the only day that unmarried ladies can be seen with their partners.

Note that another festival, Qi Xi is also sometimes referred to as "Chinese Valentine's Day".

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