Lunar Year Customs – 12th Day of Lunar New Year (農曆正月習俗之初十二女兒回來拜)

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Twelfth Day of Lunar New Year, the Day for the daughters to return home once again to pay respect to the Parents and also the Ancestors.

In Hokkien Custom, this Day is known as Cha Bo Kia Thurn Lai Bai (查某仔返來拜).

In the morning, the Parent will wake up early to prepare the necessary offerings and reunion meal stuffs. Once the Son-in-laws & Daughters are back home, the meal will start and all of the family members will need to gather around and eat together.

This time round, the Parent will start the eating first and then the rest can start.

Usually during this type of gathering, the Son-in-laws will try to show off a bit by praising one self of how well he is doing, etc. But, due to Lunar New Year, no one will try to stop or make any crude remarks.

Besides that, in Cantonese Custom (廣州人習俗), this Day will be the day for the Cantonese Clan to do preparation for the 15th Day aka Yuan Xian Jie (元宵節).

In the Ancient Era, the Cantonese Clan will engage people to set up the stage or tentage for hanging Lanterns and putting on of Traditional Operas.

Once the stage or tentage is being set up, the folks will go to markets to choose the best lanterns or engage masters to create some beautiful lanterns for hanging or display.