This stand is the one that greets shoppers as you get to the entrance of the mall. It is common in malls to have these booths during special occassions. Chinese new year for one.
Lucky Market. From the name of the exhibit alone, I thought I can already tell what's cooking. Guess what?
If you do not yet have a guess, read on to discover for yourself. If you have your guess, still, read on and see if your guess is right.
This was how the Lucky Market looked when I got to the venue. There were only few shoppers, or probably just onlookers like me. So again, what's in there? Let's get closer.
What was your guess? Accessories and lucky charms. Got it? No? Now, you know.
Amulets and lucky charms are very common to Chinese. They have the beliefs that these will bring you that and that will bring you this. And the most common charm I noticed that they offer are bracelets of different types of stones.
Among the different bracelets is a list of years and the corresponding birth stone of whoever was born in such year. The bracelet is very common because it is something that can be carried anywhere conveniently. It is like carrying the good luck everywhere.
Aside from bracelets, there were also figurines that Chinese believe to be lucky charms either at home or in the workplace.
What always catches my attention in this kind of market is the dragon figurine. Among all the animals that are said to represent different years, dragon is the only mythical one.
The seller of this dragon was trying hard to convince me to buy it. She was saying that dragon is really good in attracting good luck, that it is useful whatever year it is unlike others that are very specific for an animal. And that "you can not go wrong with dragon."
I almost laughed. If there is year of the rat, there is also year of the dragon. That alone is a big difference. It is not year of the dragon all the time.
I made a turn at the corner of the booths and found out that not all booths were selling charms. There were also indoor plants in the booths on the right side.
Most of the plants on sale were succulents and cute cacti.
These pots looked like bowls of porridge with an alien spaceship that precisedly landed in the middle.
Another turn to the booths at the back revealed that there were other products on display. There were these beauty products which seem to be homemade.
There were also these popular Polland hopia. They say these are commonly sold in Binondo, Manila which is a Chinese community. What is hopia, you asked?
Bakpia (Chinese: 肉餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bah-piáⁿ; literally: 'meat pastry'- the name it is known by in Indonesia) or Hopia (Chinese: 好餅; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hó-piáⁿ, literally: 'good pastry' - the name it is known by in the Philippines) is a popular Indonesian and Philippine bean-filled moon cake-like pastry originally introduced by Fujianese immigrants in the urban centers of both nations around the turn of the twentieth century[citation needed]. It is a widely available inexpensive treat and a favoured gift for families, friends and relatives.
I was surprised to see salt lamp. There was nothing on the display that says these are Himalayan salt lamp. Surprisingly, the seller was not saying anything when I was looking. Other sellers in other booths would jump in with their sales talk once they see me looking at their display.
Himalayan salt lamps are decorative lights you can buy for your home.
They are carved out of pink Himalayan salt and believed to have various health benefits.
In fact, advocates of salt lamps claim they can clean the air in your home, soothe allergies, boost your mood and help you sleep.
Porcelains specifically flower vases were other Chinese products that will not be missed in this market. There were also manual fans, coin purses and chop sticks.
I have made a complete round over the booths which were arranged in square formation. Now, I'm back on the front with more bracelets.
For this particular group of bracelets, one type of stone is dominant. The black obsidian.
Black obsidian is a glass-like rock that forms from volcanic lava cooling quickly. In metaphysical circles, it has the aura of absolute mystery. Its energy draws you in softly, but very deeply, which makes the presence of black obsidian powerful in many ways. It is commonly used for protection, healing, truth-telling, and feng shui.
They say number 8 is a lucky number because of its infinite shape. Combine that with a dragon and you're set to infinite power and good luck. So the seller said.
Chinese dragon, also known as East Asian dragon or Long, are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and East Asian culture at large. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms such as turtles and fish, but are most commonly depicted as snake-like with four legs. They traditionally symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, typhoons, and floods. The dragon is also a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it in East Asian culture. During the days of Imperial China, the Emperor of China usually used the dragon as a symbol of his imperial strength and power.[1]
The seller was doing her very best to convince me when she noticed that I was setting my eyes on this dragon. From eight thousand pesos, she lowered the price down to five thousand even without my asking for the price. That is usually every seller's technique. They give you a high amount at first and claim that they will give discount. That is without the prospective buyer bargaining at all. It is kind of funny to me.
This one was the biggest dragon on display. I think it is about 40 cm high. The seller was saying it is already three-in-one because there are arwana at the foot of the figurine and the dragon is holding fire ball, all claimed to bring good luck. She was also saying that if I like something, I should not be having second thoughts in buying it so good luck will not be having second thoughts in coming to me. I felt like laughing out loud. It was like "Really huh? If I buy that and sit all day, will good luck fall from the sky?"
I have to admit it very much caught my attention because I thought it is very nice for display. But to rely on it for good luck? I am yet to think about that.
The dragon seller even offered that she will give me lucky bracelet as give-away if I buy the dragon. She asked for my birth year and offered me tiger eyes stone.
The other seller on the next booth was apparenrly listening to our coversation. She squeezed in and told the first seller to give me pi yao instead. The first seller looked at my wrist and answered, "Ma'am is already wearing one." I smiled.
Not only is Pi Yao (Pi Xiu) the most powerful protective feng shui cure against the Grand Duke (a flying stars school term), it is also a good feng shui cure to attract wealth.
I told the seller that I will think about the dragon. She repeated her claim that I should not be having second thoughts for the good luck to come freely. I just smiled and started to move on.
In front of the booth to the left, a woman came and asked in the air what the wind chime is for.
"Nothing but to drive bad luck away," a man following her answered.
"Right! There is nothing else it is for." I jived in.
The woman looked at me and realized that I was not the seller. "Ay, ma'am is not the seller," she said insinuating that what I said is not reliable.
The seller came to join the conversation. The woman asked what the chime is for and the seller said it's for good luck. I laughed and asked the woman, "See?"
Anyone who comes to a market like this should expect that answer. All sellers will claim everything is for good luck.
I was also offered an arwana and pi yao figurines. Yeah, they also look good for display at home. But if I was to buy anything that time, it would be the dragon.
There were not much of shoppers around the booths. It wasn't like the booths that came out during the previous Chinese new years which were usually flocked by luck hunters. Have people learned their lesson to rely more on their perseverance and diligent rather than amulets and charms? I hope so. That is because if I answer my own question earlier, good luck will not just fall from the sky by sitting all day no matter how many lucky charms someone has. Agree or disagree?
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