Kung Hei Fat Choi - happy lunar/chinese new year to you

We're knee deep in Chinese or Lunar New Year celebrations here.

This new year is the year of the Ox (牛) - which seems very apt given the economic climate:

The Ox is thought to be the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. Security is their main preoccupation in life, and they are prepared to toil long and hard in order to provide a warm, comfortable and stable nest for themselves and their families.

The Ox, according to tradition, is not extravagant, and a modern interpretation of this is that the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox sleepless nights.

Ox people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. They are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain.

Hmm.

Here's the latest (the 3rd Chinese New Year we've celebrated in Hong Kong!) pictures of the boys dressed in traditional Chinese New Year garb .. they are encouraged to do this so that when they visit our places of work (tomorrow), all younger and unmarried people are obliged to give them 'Lai See' (red packets of money), providing that is the boys wish folks 'Kung Hei Fat Choi' whilst simultaneously clasping their hands and shaking them in front of their chests (as they're doing in the photographs).

Judging by the look I'm getting from Billy in these shots, I think this might well be the last year we see him dressed in such a way.

And some interesting New Year customs taken from wiki:

Good luck

* Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year.
* Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.
* Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year.
* It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, as explained below, cleaning the house on or after New Year's Day is frowned upon)
* Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.
* Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.
* The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.
* Changing different things in the house such as blankets, clothes, mattress covers etc. is also a well respected tradition in terms of cleaning the house in preparation for the new year.

Bad luck

* Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The character for "shoe" (鞋) is a homophone for the character 諧/谐, which means "rough" in Cantonese; in Mandarin it is also a homophone for the character for "evil" (邪).
* Getting a hair-cut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles. Therefore, people get a hair-cut before the New Year's Eve.
* Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)
* Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.
* Saying words like "finished" and "gone" is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people would avoid these words by saying "I have completed eating my meal" rather than say "I have finished my meal."
* Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious.
* Buying (or reading) books is bad luck because the character for "book" (書/书) is a homonym to the character for "lose" (輸/输).
* Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional Chinese funeral colour.
* Foul language is inappropriate during the Chinese New Year.
* Offering anything in fours, as the number four (四), pronounced sì, can sound like "death" (死), pronounced sĭ, in Chinese. Pronunciations given here are for Mandarin, but the two words are also near-homophones in Cantonese.
* One should never buy a clock for someone or for oneself because a clock in Chinese tradition means one's life is limited or "the end," which is also forbidden.
* Avoid medicine and medicine related activities (at least on the first day) as it will give a bad fortune on one's health and lessen the luck one can obtain from New Years.

M