Lucky couple with a Dragon baby on the way -- Nickcolle Chew, 34, who is six months pregnant, gets to pick and choose while her doting husband Warren Tan, 36, attends to her every whim at the baby department in a shopping mall in George Town Penang. (August 15, 2024) —CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Many couples from the Chinese community believe that this year, the Year of the Dragon, is an auspicious time to have children.
However, with the Year of the Snake coming in 2025, wedding registrations have fallen steeply now as it will not be good to get married and have a baby born in this particular year, according to popularly-held belief.
Feng shui master Mak Foo Wengg (pic) said many Chinese families perceive the Year of the Snake as inauspicious for having babies due to traditional superstition, zodiac conflicts, astrology, and fate.
“In certain cultures, snakes are seen as negative symbols, representing cunning and danger, so people believe that children born in that year will face more difficulties and challenges.
“There are also conflicts between zodiac signs or predictions of fate according to traditional Chinese astrology using the Eight Characters (Ba Zi) of birth,” he added.
Fortunately, he said such beliefs have become less accepted these days and more people are now deciding on the timing of childbirth based on personal and family circumstances rather than solely on the zodiac year.
However, a check with several wedding dinner venues shows bookings have dropped by about 30%.
At the Penang Chinese Town Hall, the number of lovebirds tying the knot for the rest of the year will probably be halved.
Its marriage registrar’s office revealed that it solemnised the marriages of only 144 couples so far up to July compared with 454 marriage registrations in the whole of last year.
Penang Koo Soo Kwong Choon Tong Restaurant and Tea Shop Association chairman Vinah Yee said restaurants have reported around a 30% decline in wedding reservations this year compared with the first six months after Chinese New Year last year.
She said this was due to many couples having already wed earlier to ensure that they could have their offspring within the Year of the Dragon.
“The Chinese believe a dragon child will be active, strong and lucky. Many got married last year in the hopes of a dragon baby,” said Yee, whose association represents 40 major restaurants in Penang.
St Giles Wembley Penang Hotel general manager Tony Goh, who is also Penang chairman of the Malaysian Association of Hotels, said the hotel has received 27% fewer bookings this year compared with last year.
“Last year, we hosted 44 weddings, but only hosted 32 weddings this year,” he said.
The Skye Wedding Space by M Summit Group said “this cultural preference resulted in a remarkable increase in weddings” between January and July last year.
However, for this year, it said demand had dropped by about 30% in the same period.
It was reported that the Chinese community has seen a 33% drop in marriage rates since their peak in 2016.
Last month, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin urged the Chinese community to consider getting hitched following a drop in marriage rates from 2016 to 2022.
He also voiced concerns over the implications of the declining birthrate among the Chinese community in the country.
