First of all, this event happened to my family long ago in December 2005. Well, this is directly related to me but according to customs belief, I am so-called not allowed to joined this event. So I was away and my cousin happened to help me record down the event. Thanks to him I get to understand what happened!
Selection of auspicious dates 看日子 - Auspicious dates are required for the Chinese wedding, so after the selection of date is being discuss, the betrothal date will follwed.
Not to get you all confuse, this event is named, "Sang Jit" as in Betrothal 过大礼/纳彩 (Akad Nikah in Malay) and I understand that it is a kinda Chinese Pre-wedding customs. In other words, quantities of betrothal gifts, return gifts, bride's price 娉金, and number of tables at the wedding banquet provided by the groom's parents for the bride's parents' guest are decided on.
Well, look at all the chinese wedding cakes....... amazing huh! Well, the Bride's family will request for wedding cakes, biscuits and red packets and some other tibits and a piece of roast pork leg.Two pairs of dragon and phoenix candles 龙凤烛are also included. So the above picture shows the individual family customs. My grandma took charge and requested the groom's family to provide 5 different wedding cakes, some are Cantonese traditonal cakes and some are Hokkien biscuits... guess what the Groom is having a BIG headache to find all those cakes/biscuits.
Hap Tou Sou (Canto) - 60pieces
Kai Tan Kao (Canto) - 60pieces
Pei Tan Sou (Canto) - 60pieces
Lin Yong Peng (Canto) - 60pieces
Zi Ma Tong (Hokkien) - 60pieces
So all together, 300 pieces of cakes/biscuits....WOW! On top of that, 2 bottles of brandy!! Double WOW!
Well, the bride's family will then return some biscuits to the groom's side and including a pair of Passion fruit, some apples, red dates, longan and red packets for good luck and fortune. Complicated!
The elders are recording down the items that are being sent.... well how much respect is shown here from the groom's family to the bride's family.......... very complicated! Well, it's a happy occasion so everyone is excited!
At the end of the session, everyone is invited to a feast, so as you can see here, all the food on the table has a meaning behind it. The Longevity noodles with a drumstick in it. The red eggs symbolizes fertility, the red dates and longan signifies prosperity. Roast pork means full and prosperity in a family. As you see the word "Family" in the chinese character [家] has a top hat and a pig under it, meaning every family that has a pig under their roof is wealthy and prosperity. Get the idea! Well, here you see all the wonderful dishes and food, and you know I am not allow to touch any of it.......... how sad, deliberately I had the intention of eating the biscuits..... one single bite can do no harm I guess. To many it's a taboo......
Well, Love strawberries.... they are my favourite fruit. Went to Cameron long ago and this is the address for the Healthy Strawberry Farm. heheeh.... just a few hours drive exit from Simpang Pulai and you'll get up to Cameron as easy as that!
Well, these are the actual baby strawberries...... ready to turn red and be eaten! Here you can see that they grow in rows and rows of these protected plastic tubes that contain soil and fertilizers in it. Sprinkling water and cooling weather makes it possible to grow. Well, you can pluck your own strawberries here in the farm. It's around RM10-15 you get to pluck them and bring them home!
Cute little strawberries huh! Yummy yummm......... they do sell strawberry Jam and strawberry juice and strawberry sweets here too..... All freshly made with no preservatives!
