Valentine's Day and Chap Goh Meh

Let me introduce to you Valentina Kim, a lovely lass who was born on Valentine's Day.

The 27-year-old runs Kim's Florist and Floral Supplies, established in 1981, at Jalan Sungai Chat in Johor Bahru. 

Valentina Kim (centre) with me and Norbaiti Phaharoradzi

At Kim's Florist, luscious red roses are the best-sellers for Valentine's Day.  A bouquet with 101 roses, where a single white rose is found among 100 red ones, translates to "You're my one and only."
By the way, a bouquet like that costs RM950.

This year's "Chap Goh Meh", which is the 15th day of the Chinese New Year celebration, also falls on Feb 14.  Some have dubbed the last day of the CNY as the Chinese version of Valentine's Day.

In the old days, Chinese girls are not allowed to go out on their own.  But on "Chap Goh Meh", they get to go for a stroll, albeit chaperoned, in the hope of finding love.  Single ladies also get to throw Mandarin oranges into the river for single men to pick up.  This tradition is still practiced today among the Chinese community.

Come Friday, I, too, will celebrate this day but I pretty much doubt there'll be roses or Mandarin oranges.  It'll be a quiet day with

My Valentine