Matchmaking Orange Festival
PENANG ISLAND, MALAYSIA
During Lunar New Year on Chap Goh Mei, single women co-opt the symbolic gift of oranges (which represent wealth) to help them find love. Starting in the late 19th century, eligible women on Penang Island wrote on orange rinds and tossed the fruit into the water. Male suitors were meant to pluck a floating orb, then find the affiliated lady. Singles initially performed this ritual so that fate might bring them a spouse, but today, women add their phone number or social media handle and try to land a date.