Hong Kong welcomes its first ‘tiger babies’ at Lunar New Year as temple leaders wish for prosperity, peace and end to pandemic
- Five babies born in four hospitals across Hong Kong after midnight as the city headed into Year of the Tiger
- Wong Tai Sin Temple, which in pre-pandemic times used to draw thousands to make offerings for good fortune at Lunar New Year, holds annual ritual behind closed doors
A sense of solitude brought on by the coronavirus pandemic is going to make Felix Shek cherish his time with his newborn daughter and family more than ever, the father of one of the city’s first “tiger babies” said on Tuesday.
Shek’s daughter was one of five babies born in four hospitals across Hong Kong after midnight as the city welcomed the Year of the Tiger.
“It’s a good sign the baby girl chose to be born at this time,” the 36-year-old said at Union Hospital in Sha Tin, adding that her due date was originally February 11.
But posing for a photo with his wife and 3.18kg daughter, complete with a face shield, Shek also noted the difficult times in which she was born.
“It will make me cherish the time with my baby and family more especially under the pandemic,” he said on the first day of Lunar New Year. “We plan to spend more time hopefully in country parks because the baby seems eager to find out about the world already.”
Other tiger babies were born in United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, Adventist Hospital in Tsuen Wan and St Teresa’s Hospital in Kowloon City.
A baby girl who was born in Adventist Hospital weighed about 3kg. Her parents, Mr and Mrs Lui, said they hoped their first child would grow up happy and healthy.