What should you bring to school on the first day?
A kindergarten boy in China’s Jiangsu Province recently became an internet sensation when he showed up at school with a unique bag. The 3-year-old boy, identified as Youyou, stood out from the crowd mainly because the items in his bag weren’t related to studying.
On 1st September (last Friday), Youyou went to kindergarten carrying several peculiar items such as apples, instant noodles, green onions, pancakes, and water chestnuts in his schoolbag. While many may find this bizarre, Youyou’s mother (surnamed Cao) clarified that it is a local tradition in their home city to wish children good luck in their studies.
“This is part of the unique folk tradition in (Jiangsu Province). I prepared these lucky things for him the same way my uncle did for me when I (first went to school),” Cao was quoted as saying. News publication CGTN explained that the aforementioned edible items are all homophone for lucky words in Mandarin.
For example, the green onion (Cong) is a homophone for smart (Cong Ming). Apple or Ping Guo is a homophone for safe (Ping An). Interestingly, the instant noodle brand in Youyou’s “Good Luck” bag is Unify 100, which is supposedly to wish that he’ll score 100% in his exams. No pressure there kiddo 😉
Even though some may think that this superstition is silly or the added weight inconvenient, Youyou was reportedly delighted to share this “good luck” items with his classmates – with the exception of 1 item. “I need to bring the green onions home. They make me a clever boy,” he said.
He’s super adorable, isn’t he?
Sources: Next Shark, Ecns/ Featured image: Weibo.
