From raffle tickets to folded money...

Dubai is preparing herself for the most awaited event by shopaholics, you guessed it, the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is coming! All the retail outlets will slash off prices like crazy! If you're NOT a millionaire or have tonnes of money to blow, it's time to drool and weep over the stuff that you can't get even when it's 70% off.

But DSF is not ALL about spending money, it is also time for raffles tickets and a chance for poor sods (like me) to stand a chance in winning cars, luxury apartments and cash. I found out today that I can win cars and apartment just by spending a minimum 25 Dhs at the gas station's retail store.

Faster than the speed of light (almost!), ran into the store and bought -

1. Car wash coupon. (Car is practically a moving sand dune)
2. Local woman's magazine. (It's time I learn what the locals do around here)
3. Ice cream. (Something to eat while waiting for sand dune to return to its original form)

As the car goes a-splishing-and-a-splashing, I sat down and leafed through Emirates Woman. Out fell a supplement, Emirates Bride. Interesting, and since weddings are partly related to the industry I work in, I decided to go through that first.

Flip.. skim.. flip... skim... flip.... skim..... flip.... ehehehehe... ehehhehem... mmm.. mm... m

*Strange looks from people in the waiting area....*

p. 85, Emirates Bride.

Wedding Traditions,
Gifts

Swedish brides put a silver coin from their father and a gold coin from their mother in their shoes to ensure they will never go without

Fijian Grooms present their father-in-law with a whale's tooth, a tabua, as a symbol of wealth and status

Malaysian grooms send their brides to be money folded into animal or flower shapes

Of all of our wonderful wedding traditions, money folded into animal or flower shape is apparently the one that made it into this magazine. I'm surprised I didn't laugh harder! I'm not even sure if we even do the origami-like gifts (hantaran) anymore. Homer gave me a cheque in a pewter frame.

If you look at the first 2 gifts, both had wonderful meaning behind them. Wishing the couple to always have silver and gold so that they will never go hungry; and the heart warming symbolism behind the tabua.

My thoughts ran wild for the meaning behind the animal or flower shaped folded money. How about; it makes spending the money more difficult as it takes forever to undo the intricate folds or maybe; it is a test of the brides' skills of straightening the dosh. I heard from my aunt that she had to carefully iron each single note! For her wedding, the duit hantaran (gift) was shaped like a swan.

Money folded into animal or flower shapes... it is NOT tradition, at best, it's just some makcik's (aunts) way of showing off her lipat-lipat (folding) skills.

-i-know-how-to-make-origami-crane-L