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Showing posts with label good life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good life. Show all posts
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Monday, September 19, 2016
A match made by god at Yueh Hai Ching Temple
A match made by god at Yueh Hai Ching Temple
WONG PEI TING
wongpeiting@mediacorp.com.sg
PUBLISHED: 9:20 PM, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016UPDATED: 10:35 AM, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016
SINGAPORE — It was jackpot on the first try for a couple looking for true love with the help of the Chinese god of matchmatching at Singapore’s oldest Teochew temple, Yueh Hai Ching Temple.
To express their gratitude, Mr Mah Chun How, 34, and Ms Kang Say See, 29, tied the knot at the temple on Philip Street on Thursday (Sept 15), on the birthday of the Chinese love deity, Yue Lao, which coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Although the pair met two years ago through their relatives, Mr Mah believes it was the prayer they had separately made to Yue Lao at the same temple that sealed the match.
The software engineer had prayed to find a wife in January that year, and Ms Kang made her wish a month later. They were introduced by relatives in April and were dating soon after — initially without the knowledge they had both prayed to the same deity.
During one of their first date nights, Mr Mah noticed that Ms Kang’s hands were stained with red ink. “She told me it was residue left over from her holding joss sticks that day. I asked (her) which temple she went to, and she said, ‘A temple in Raffles Place’. I thought ‘No way!’,” said Mr Mah in Mandarin.
After more questions, Mr Mah discovered that she had gone to the temple at Philip Street to thank Yue Lao for blessing her with a boyfriend. It was then that he confessed that he, too, had recently prayed to the same Yue Lao.
Unlike Mr Mah, who had been a regular worshipper at the temple since he came to Singapore from Malaysia in 2001, Ms Kang heard about the temple from her friends.
The Perak-born accounts assistant had one relationship before, which did not work out, and one of her friends told her to try her luck by praying to Yue Lao — portrayed in Chinese folklore as an old man who unites all predestined couples with a silken cord.
Although there are at least three other temples in Singapore with the love deity, the Yue Lao at Yueh Hai Ching Temple is the most reputable for its high success rates with love and marriages. So for S$6, Ms Kang bought a prayer pack at the temple to pray for a boyfriend. It included a red thread that was to be placed over Yue Lao’s neck, some joss sticks and a paper to indicate her name.
With the deity playing such a crucial role in their union, Mr Mah and Ms Kang chose the temple for their solemnisation.
They were the first couple to solemnise their marriage in the 19th-century temple after the completion of its restoration in 2013.
Chairman of the Ngee Ann Kongsi’s Temple & Prayers Sub-Committee, Mr Lee Sean Wah, said: “I found (the request) most unusual and told them there are no monks in Yueh Hai Ching Temple. However our deities will bless them a happy marriage.” He was referring to a common practice where some temples have their monks give their blessings in a wedding.
He added: “After they told me their story, we found it fascinating and are delighted to facilitate the ceremony… After all, Yue Lao could be said to be the most ancient matchmaker!”
The Ngee Ann Kongsi had been the custodian of the temple since 1845. The temple was said to have started from a hut in the 1820s, and is home to deities like Xuan Tian Shang Di, Mazu and Zhu Sheng Niang Niang, who is believed to bless couples with children.
Asked if they would be praying to Zhu Sheng Niang Niang for a baby, Mr Mah said: “Right after this.”
- wong chee tat :)
WONG PEI TING
wongpeiting@mediacorp.com.sg
PUBLISHED: 9:20 PM, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016UPDATED: 10:35 AM, SEPTEMBER 16, 2016
SINGAPORE — It was jackpot on the first try for a couple looking for true love with the help of the Chinese god of matchmatching at Singapore’s oldest Teochew temple, Yueh Hai Ching Temple.
To express their gratitude, Mr Mah Chun How, 34, and Ms Kang Say See, 29, tied the knot at the temple on Philip Street on Thursday (Sept 15), on the birthday of the Chinese love deity, Yue Lao, which coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Although the pair met two years ago through their relatives, Mr Mah believes it was the prayer they had separately made to Yue Lao at the same temple that sealed the match.
The software engineer had prayed to find a wife in January that year, and Ms Kang made her wish a month later. They were introduced by relatives in April and were dating soon after — initially without the knowledge they had both prayed to the same deity.
During one of their first date nights, Mr Mah noticed that Ms Kang’s hands were stained with red ink. “She told me it was residue left over from her holding joss sticks that day. I asked (her) which temple she went to, and she said, ‘A temple in Raffles Place’. I thought ‘No way!’,” said Mr Mah in Mandarin.
After more questions, Mr Mah discovered that she had gone to the temple at Philip Street to thank Yue Lao for blessing her with a boyfriend. It was then that he confessed that he, too, had recently prayed to the same Yue Lao.
Unlike Mr Mah, who had been a regular worshipper at the temple since he came to Singapore from Malaysia in 2001, Ms Kang heard about the temple from her friends.
The Perak-born accounts assistant had one relationship before, which did not work out, and one of her friends told her to try her luck by praying to Yue Lao — portrayed in Chinese folklore as an old man who unites all predestined couples with a silken cord.
Although there are at least three other temples in Singapore with the love deity, the Yue Lao at Yueh Hai Ching Temple is the most reputable for its high success rates with love and marriages. So for S$6, Ms Kang bought a prayer pack at the temple to pray for a boyfriend. It included a red thread that was to be placed over Yue Lao’s neck, some joss sticks and a paper to indicate her name.
With the deity playing such a crucial role in their union, Mr Mah and Ms Kang chose the temple for their solemnisation.
They were the first couple to solemnise their marriage in the 19th-century temple after the completion of its restoration in 2013.
Chairman of the Ngee Ann Kongsi’s Temple & Prayers Sub-Committee, Mr Lee Sean Wah, said: “I found (the request) most unusual and told them there are no monks in Yueh Hai Ching Temple. However our deities will bless them a happy marriage.” He was referring to a common practice where some temples have their monks give their blessings in a wedding.
He added: “After they told me their story, we found it fascinating and are delighted to facilitate the ceremony… After all, Yue Lao could be said to be the most ancient matchmaker!”
The Ngee Ann Kongsi had been the custodian of the temple since 1845. The temple was said to have started from a hut in the 1820s, and is home to deities like Xuan Tian Shang Di, Mazu and Zhu Sheng Niang Niang, who is believed to bless couples with children.
Asked if they would be praying to Zhu Sheng Niang Niang for a baby, Mr Mah said: “Right after this.”
- wong chee tat :)
Monday, June 27, 2016
Flashy lifestyles hide hints of credit card woes
Flashy lifestyles hide hints of credit card woes
By Chew Hui Yan Posted 25 Jun 2016 15:16 Updated 26 Jun 2016 02:22
SINGAPORE: They flash their credits cards at high-end restaurants and hang out at hip nightspots. The more adventurous among them think nothing about taking yearly vacations in the most exotic, far-flung places.
But such a lifestyle has also been identified as the main reason young professionals tend to rack up unsecured debts, Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) said.
The organisation, which helps people clear their debts, believes a lot of this is due to peer pressure.
“If you have friends who go clubbing a lot, you might feel pressured to go with them because if you don’t, you’d start to lose your friends,” CCS president Kuo How Nam said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia.
This pressure might eventually lead to an unsustainable lifestyle, which is further glamourised on social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
“Don’t be fooled; people might post pictures of designer bags and nice restaurants but what you don’t see is how much they owe,” Mr Kuo said.
“Once, I picked up an issue of Tatler magazine (a luxury publication targeted at high-net-worth individuals) and recognised a client. Social status is more a function of how much you spend rather than how much you have.”
The CCS administers the Repayment Assistant Scheme, which was introduced in April last year to help those with large unsecured debts.
In 2015, it counselled 4,675 people, of which about 11 per cent were aged 30 and below. People aged 31 to 40 make up more than one third (about 1,800) of the total.
The CCS said this could be due to several reasons. For instance, people aged 31 to 40 may have young children and parents to look after; younger ones are less likely to have such responsibilities. Younger professionals thus are under less pressure financially and have greater freedom to spend on themselves.
Another contributing factor is the fact that one needs a minimum annual income of S$30,000 to be eligible to apply for a credit card. This means young adults who have just entered the workforce might not even qualify.
Mr Alfred Chia, the chief executive officer of financial planning company SingCapital, also noted that young professionals tend to have better financial literacy and responsibility compared to the older generation.
“The numbers are healthy and we’ve seen an increase in young working adults seeking financial planning,” he said. Over the last five years, SingCapital has seen an annual increase of 8 to 10 per cent in clients aged 30 and below.
Despite these encouraging statistics, Mr Kuo offered this note of caution for young professionals: “Be careful. How you spend your money is affected by who you mix with. This determines your lifestyle which decides whether or not you get into debt.”
It is also never too early for young professionals to start planning their finances, said Mr Chia. “It is normal for us to deviate from our plan but having one will remind us to come back to it,” he said.
For more on unsecured debt, catch Channel NewsAsia’s Spotlight segment on Sunday, Jun 26, at 10pm.
- CNA/av
- wong chee tat :)
By Chew Hui Yan Posted 25 Jun 2016 15:16 Updated 26 Jun 2016 02:22
SINGAPORE: They flash their credits cards at high-end restaurants and hang out at hip nightspots. The more adventurous among them think nothing about taking yearly vacations in the most exotic, far-flung places.
But such a lifestyle has also been identified as the main reason young professionals tend to rack up unsecured debts, Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) said.
The organisation, which helps people clear their debts, believes a lot of this is due to peer pressure.
“If you have friends who go clubbing a lot, you might feel pressured to go with them because if you don’t, you’d start to lose your friends,” CCS president Kuo How Nam said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia.
This pressure might eventually lead to an unsustainable lifestyle, which is further glamourised on social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.
“Don’t be fooled; people might post pictures of designer bags and nice restaurants but what you don’t see is how much they owe,” Mr Kuo said.
“Once, I picked up an issue of Tatler magazine (a luxury publication targeted at high-net-worth individuals) and recognised a client. Social status is more a function of how much you spend rather than how much you have.”
The CCS administers the Repayment Assistant Scheme, which was introduced in April last year to help those with large unsecured debts.
In 2015, it counselled 4,675 people, of which about 11 per cent were aged 30 and below. People aged 31 to 40 make up more than one third (about 1,800) of the total.
The CCS said this could be due to several reasons. For instance, people aged 31 to 40 may have young children and parents to look after; younger ones are less likely to have such responsibilities. Younger professionals thus are under less pressure financially and have greater freedom to spend on themselves.
Another contributing factor is the fact that one needs a minimum annual income of S$30,000 to be eligible to apply for a credit card. This means young adults who have just entered the workforce might not even qualify.
Mr Alfred Chia, the chief executive officer of financial planning company SingCapital, also noted that young professionals tend to have better financial literacy and responsibility compared to the older generation.
“The numbers are healthy and we’ve seen an increase in young working adults seeking financial planning,” he said. Over the last five years, SingCapital has seen an annual increase of 8 to 10 per cent in clients aged 30 and below.
Despite these encouraging statistics, Mr Kuo offered this note of caution for young professionals: “Be careful. How you spend your money is affected by who you mix with. This determines your lifestyle which decides whether or not you get into debt.”
It is also never too early for young professionals to start planning their finances, said Mr Chia. “It is normal for us to deviate from our plan but having one will remind us to come back to it,” he said.
For more on unsecured debt, catch Channel NewsAsia’s Spotlight segment on Sunday, Jun 26, at 10pm.
- CNA/av
- wong chee tat :)
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