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Singapore Women Toss Oranges in Hopes of a Husband
Single women tossed oranges into a Singapore river to mark Chinese Valentine's Day and hopes for a good husband.
Under the glow of the full moon on Wednesday night, about a dozen women tossed Mandarin oranges from the concrete river bank in the heart of the city into the murky water below.
"In the old days, the single women would throw oranges and the men would come to watch," one woman in her 40s told the Straits Times newspaper.
Singapore's orange tossing tradition is a variation of an ancient Chinese practice.
An unmarried daughter from a rich family would toss a colourful silk ball from a balcony on Chinese Valentine's Day, which also marked the last day of the Lunar New Year, and marry the man who caught it.
In the hustle-bustle of the modern city state, where government organisations help singles find their match, the efficacy of the oranges is questionable.
But one woman who has been tossing oranges for eight years has not given up yet.
"We are ever hopeful," she said.
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