NO loud ‘yam sengs’.
No blaring of the car horn to announce the arrival of the bridegroom.
During the Japanese Occupation, weddings were low-key affairs. A lot of customary rituals were simplified because of the harsh conditions.
Instead of a beautifully decorated Mercedes Benz, the groom would fetch his bride on a bicycle.
"The bride, in all her splendour, would ride pillion all the way to the groom’s house for the ceremony," said Madam Wu Hui Zhen in "Price of Peace", a book by The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the Japanese Occupation.
At night, nuptial candles were not lit, as the Japanese had imposed a ‘lights out’ curfew.
"Though weddings were supposed to be joyous affairs, wedding parties were always spent in darkness," added Madam Wu.
Other festivals, like weddings, were also celebrated on a smaller scale.
"Though it was wartime, we still observed festivals like Ching Ming (Tomb-sweeping day), the mid-autumn festival, the dumpling festival and Lunar New Year. These are major events for the Chinese. There was no way the Japanese could change that," said Madam Wu.
No flour for mooncakes? No problem. The housewives improvised with whatever they could find.
"We used tapioca to make the pastry and sweet potato replaced sweet bean paste fillings," said Madam Wu.
An even simpler version of the mooncake was the ‘moonlight cakes’. These resembled lao po bing (literally, wife’s cakes). They were flatter than ordinary mooncakes.
Used with permission from the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
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