What is it about Rituals?

Monkey see, monkey better do? You can probably tell that I (with)hold some skepticism towards ritualistic endeavours.

I recently bought my first property - a tiny, precious home within an ambitious new town development in space-starved Singapore.

It was a big moment for me when I received the official email (serendipitously on my 41st birthday) informing me that my keys were ready for collection.

I then joined the dedicated WhatsApp group chat for future neighbours living in the same residential block to get acquainted and share resources with one another.

Very quickly the chat room got flooded with hundreds of messages every day. Everyone was excited about getting their keys after an agonising five-year wait.

Skimming through the flurry of digital activity one day, I noticed that a significant part of the conversation was devoted to discussing how we should enter our brand new home.

Yup. Apparently that is a big deal.

I was introduced to a sizeable list of food items and rituals we should prepare for this special moment.

Salt. Raw rice. Beans. Tea leaves. Pineapple. Garlic. Candy.

And then there were more specific instructions: