Happy Chinese New Year 2011

Posted by Ling on February 3, 2011

In English : Happy Chinese New Year
In Cantonese : Gung Hei Fat Choy
In Mandarin : Gong Xi Fa Cai

If you didn’t know already, it is Chinese New Year for us yellow-skinned people today.  Every year, it starts on a different date depending on the moon.

There are many traditionss associated with Chinese New Year.  For example :-

1.  Sweeping and cleaning the house to say goodbye to any ill-fortune
2.  Decorating the house with red paper with Chinese writing on it
3.  Feasting – roast duck, roast piglet, etc
4.  Chinese firecrackers and Chinese lion dance
5. Married couples giving out red envelopes containing money to single people (in Cantonese : liy see  and in Mandarin : ang pow)

As we are now married, we have to give out these red envelopes containing money to any singletons greeting us with “Gong hei fat choy“.  It’s times like these that I am glad that I am not living in the UK where I have six younger unmarried siblings and I know plenty of young kids – haha!!  Only joking!

It’s also the year of the Rabbit – what significance does this have?  I don’t know!  But I thought I’d leave you with a picture of me in my pink bunny costume.  PREPARE YOUR EYES!  And please, no jokes about any toes from hump-backed animals please!  Thank you!

Wishing all my readers (Chinese and non-Chinese) a Happy Chinese New Year!  May 2011 be a healthy and prosperous year for you in all areas of your life.

For any red envelopes / liy sees / ang pows, please ask me next year when I will hopefully have a decent job.  But it means you have to be single and unmarried.  And do you really want that??  Hmmm???

For more info about Chinese New Year, please click this Wiki link.
For more info about the Chinese calendar, please click this Wiki link.