8ight

Numbers have different meanings in various cultures.

I am born Chinese and thus the number eight has been drilled into me as an auspicious number throughout my lifetime.

The eighth month of the lunar calendar is the one of the best months of the year. Many couples get married on this month after the sixth and seventh months which is considered poor months. The sixth month is half of the year. If a couple were to get married on this month, it is believed that their relationship would only last half their lifetime. The seventh month is the worst month of the whole lunar calendar year because it is the month where the gates of hell opens. So, Chinese refrain from having any activities throughout the month to be on the safe side, especially night activities. Some would even avoid all sorts of water activities to avoid drowning due to water ghosts.

While some beliefs are to better our lifestyle, others seem a little too much. Whether or not we take traditional cultures seriously is entirely up to us. Whatever it is, there is a Chinese saying “rather believe that there is, not to believe there is not”. In English, this literally translates to “better be safe than sorry”.

The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar is a very special day and celebrated all over the world in Chinese communities. It is one of the largest celebrations next to the Chinese New Year. This date we celebrate Mooncake Festival. There are many stories behind the existence of this celebration. Whatever the story is, I choose to think it is a culture worth preserving as it is a get together opportunity between parents and children. We get to observe the biggest roundest moon in all year on this date. Every fifteenth of the month in the lunar calendar marks the date of full moon but on the eighth month, it is the roundest.

Family members and neighbours gather to enjoy mooncakes and drink tea. It is this date that we get to eat some special foods. The water caltrop and pomelo. Water caltrop is a very special part of a plant. It is shaped like a pair of bulls’ horn. It is often black in colour and its shell is so hard it takes a lot of effort to break it only to find a small edible core. It has been so many years since I last had the chance to taste water caltrop. Pomelo is a probably the largest and sweetest citrus. It is wonderful to see pomelos hanging from the tree. It makes me appreciate how nature works, such a big fruit hanging from such a skinny stem.

The number eight has a special meaning to me. I was born in August, the eight month of the Gregorian calendar. So this auspicious number stays with me all my life.

I am grateful to have lived to see the special events that people around the world set up for those born on eight of August in the year 1988. Their birth date inherently has quadruple eights (8888). This date will only appear once every century. The next round would be 2088, which by then, I should already been long gone. If I am still alive, I would be a centennial already and I do not plan to live that long. Haha…

On the date 8888, maternity wards were jam packed with new parents. Reporters were busy interviewing medical personnel and happy parents. Volunteers and government officials in my home country were congratulating everyone for safe delivery on this special day. Companies that sell foods and toys for children were giving out their products for free to everyone born on eight of August, not limited to the year itself. There were people lining up everywhere, to change their IDs, renew their driver’s licenses and passports, open bank accounts, and even start their business. It was unbelievable.

Aside from all the hoo-ha outside, there is one occasion that only our family had experienced. The youngest of the family, my baby sister, was born a special child. One day, she somehow held both her hands up excitedly showing four fingers on each hand and vaguely pronouncing the word “pat” meaning eight in Cantonese, repeatedly. We did not understand the meaning until the next day. The number 8888 was first prize in the local four digit gambling center. If we had known, we would have been rich.

There is no what if, there is only action. We will not know the future but if we are to prepare ourselves now in all directions, our future is bright, whether or not the number eight is involved.

 

If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.

John Milton Cage Jr. (John Cage), American composer, 1912-1992