The Lo Hei: A Combinatorial Chinese New Year Tradition
By Anita Sayampanathan
Among the many rich traditions practiced in Singapore as part of our Chinese New Year celebrations, the ‘Lo Hei’ is a festive and sometimes messy ritual that brings people together to invoke wishes for the year ahead while tossing and combining the ingredients of the yu sheng dish — a colourful raw fish salad made with ingredients including green radish, fish, shredded carrot, plum sauce, peanuts and spices. Each ingredient represents blessings such as good wealth, good health and happiness, and as each component is added, wishes of luck and prosperity are recited. These ingredients are then tossed up in the air and mixed — Lo Hei means ‘tossing up good fortune’ — and the higher they are mixed and lifted, the more prosperity it is purported to bring.
It is often assumed that the tradition of Lo Hei was brought from mainland China. However, this particular tradition was actually adopted in the heart of Singapore’s community spirit. The Lo Hei has various components to it, and the modern version of the dish actually marks an evolution of a dish that was historically eaten around Chinese New Year. In Singapore, four chefs are credited with coming up with the modern version of the dish, and according to the National Heritage Board of Singapore, the chefs: “claimed that the Lo Hei practice was not invented by them, but was a result of spontaneous reaction of customers to the dish they created. This became a new way of eating yu sheng.”
As the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, put it in his Chinese New Year 2019 message, “Over the years, Chinese Singaporeans developed our own unique rituals and traditions celebrating Chinese New Year, which were passed down the generations. Today, at reunion dinners, we do Lo Hei to express our hopes and wishes for the coming year.”
The magic of the Lo Hei is in the mixing together of the ingredients and the act of tossing them high up into the air to combine them. These traditions have come from a combinatorial innovation approach — building on an existing dish and tradition, that people came together to add to and combine in a new way — that has helped to form a uniquely Singaporean Chinese New Year community celebration.
Combinatorial innovation is the combination of existing resources in new ways to create something new and innovative. As a Singaporean, I’m proud of how combinatorial innovation and celebrating the very diverse resources, inputs and traditions that make up our society has created diversity and resilience in Singapore and helped to define our unique culture.
We are stronger when we work together in partnership with one another, between generations, between different communities, and reunions with families and friends. As we celebrated Chinese New Year this month, I was reminded of the significance behind our traditions and the unique resources from different groups and cultures. The ideas behind innovations such as the Lo Hei remind us that Singapore is unique. Let’s work together to see how we can maximise and grow our resources when we come together and embody the ‘kampung’ spirit in the year ahead.
This article was written by Anita Sayampanathan, edited by Jaya Myler.
Anita Sayampanathan is a Singaporean currently pursuing a degree in Agricultural Economics from University of Melbourne. She is interested in the areas of food and water sustainability, poverty and food security programmes. Over the years, Anita has received awards in academics, leadership and music, and is very engaged in community activities and volunteering. Currently, Anita is an intern of Asia P3 Hub, doing research and writing.
You can reach out to Anita via email.
Jaya Myler is a non-profit manager with more than 12 years of experience working with international NGOs, corporate and consumer brands, in both developed and developing country settings. She has a strong background in managing projects and programs, and advocacy and communications, and experience working in environmental, education, and WASH NGOs. She is passionate about water and sanitation, education and poverty alleviation. She has experience working on multi-sector partnerships with NGOs, corporates, academia and governments, and is a big believer in the power of cross-sector collaboration to drive innovation and achieve impact. She holds a Master of Media Practice. She is currently Asia P3 Hub’s Communications and Marketing Consultant.
