Pumpkin

[myfs_100950]

Dear Master Cecil Lee

What is themeaning of the pumpkin fruit. Recently, when visiting to a friend house. Notice, they display a pumpkinat theancestor table and also somewhereat their dining area.Is it a fruit of wealth or new year season fruit. Alot of fish pictures and statuatte of the fish hanging ateverywall of their house and wind chimes at the window. Should I give advise to them or not.

Thank you

With warmest regards

Sophia Chia

[Cecil Lee]

Dear Sophia,

I am not to clear whether pumpkin (American slang) is similar to the local use of the term melon.

But, if what your friend had displayed, locally in Singapore we call this "pumpkin" melon instead. Some call it golden melon because of it's colour.

Usually, much like the mandarin oranges or "kum"; this is the phonetic sound like "Gold" for the Cantonese dialect group.

Thus, exchanging a pair of mandarin oranges is like exchanging gold for the Cantonese.

Thus, an orange melon also has the look of "gold" and in my opinion, perhaps, more readily associated with the Cantonese.

And during the new year period, this melon or pumpkin? has been marketed to sell on this merit. Perhaps, this is why, it is on your friend's altar!

But again, no Cantonese (who understands) the phonetic sound of the other type of melon i.e. water melon will ever place it at an altar or purchase it for their new home move-in or collection of key ritual!

Since xi qua or water melon sounds like "death" to the Cantonese. And never give a water melon to the Cantonese!

Since what you had mentioned is the golden kind, as mentioned, color looks good = to gold... thus seems acceptable.

Fish pictures represents the saying " Every year got fish " or food on the table. In addition, the mandarin word for fish "yu" stands for abundance and affluence. Symbolic of good harvests etc...

Of course, often the most common pictures are of plump fishes especially those of the graceful carp (koi) etc...

No one displays pictures of fish (sharks)! If so, *JOKE* most likely the people in the home perhaps are erh.. Loan-Sharks? or most likely business people. In modern times, could also be associated with lawyers!

Warmest Regards,
Cecil

Quote

On 2/21/2005 1:03:13 AM, Anonymous wrote:

Dear Master Cecil Lee

What is themeaning of

the pumpkin fruit. Recently,

when visiting to a friend

house. Notice, they display a

pumpkinat

theancestor table and

also somewhereat their

dining area.Is it a

fruit of wealth or new year

season fruit. Alot of fish

pictures and statuatte of the

fish hanging

ateverywall of

their house and wind chimes at

the window. Should I give

advise to them or not.

Thank you

With warmest regards

Sophia Chia