A Lovely Gesture

The Western world has Saint Nicholas, more popularly known as Santa Claus, the legendary figure who brings gifts to the homes of the good children during the late evening and overnight hours of Christmas Eve on December 24 and on his Feast Day too, on December 6, otherwise known as St. Nicholas Day. The Chinese has Cai Shen (財神), the Chinese god of prosperity to make his round during the Chinese New Year celebrations. Often referred to as Zhao Gong Ming (Chao Kung-ming) or Bi Gan (Pi-kan), Cai Shen started as a Chinese folk hero but was later deified and venerated by Chinese. In Bangsar, Malaysia, Cai Shen made a surprised appearance (inset). In conjunction with the coming Chinese New Year on February 14, a group of Chinese youths had handed out oranges to Muslims who had just performed their Friday prayers in Saidina Abu Bakar As-Siddiq mosque. Orange in Chinese, phonetically sounds like gold and the youths had wished the Muslims would be bestowed with prosperity and happiness. It was a lovely gesture.