According to traditions we call this day 人日 (rén rì), or the day of the people. On this day, all of us celebrate our birthday. Therefore I would like to wish all my family and friends a Happy Birthday.
Chinese traditions call for us to celebrate today by having a bowl of vermicelli. The long never-ending vermicelli supposedly symbolises longevity and good health. In Singapore, however, we have a localised way of celebration. On this day, the family would gather around and 捞鱼生 (lāo yú shēng). 鱼生 meaning raw fish and 捞 meaning to scope. The higher we scope , the better.
The dish actually includes more than raw fish. Other ingredients include shredded carrot, radish, and cucumber, grinded peanuts, a sweet sauce and others. Each ingredient symbolises a wish for the coming year. For example, 鱼生 sounds like and symbolises 年年有余 (nían nían yŏu yú)，风升水起 (fēng shēng shuĭ qĭ), which translate into abundance and prosperity.
Therefore, in addition to good health and a happy birthday, I hope we all have a great and abundant year ahead!
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