Chinese New Year

Happy New Year of the Tiger! 

新年快樂 恭禧發財! 

Xin nian kuai le gong xi fa cai!

The first time I experienced Chinese New Year was in 1998 in Taipei when I was living there. It was also the start of a tiger year as the Chinese zodiac has a 12-year cycle. I remember learning a song in Mandarin class that went to the tune of Frère Jacques and which was about two tigers: 

兩隻老虎 兩隻老虎

liang zhi laohu liang zhi laohu (two tigers)

跑得快 跑得快

pao de kuai pao de kuai (running fast)

一隻沒有耳朵 

yi zhi mei you erduo (one has no ear/s)

一隻沒有尾巴 

yi zhi mei you weiba (one has no tail)

真奇怪 真奇怪

zhen qiguai zhen qiguai (how odd)

I also learnt a typical new year song, which I've found on YouTube.

Also called the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday of the year for Chinese people. It's an exciting time when families get together and welcome the start of the lunar new year. I've been very privileged to be invited into people's homes at this time of year. It's quite an honour and there's always lots of food to eat. Much of the food has a significance because the Chinese name is a pun on words like happiness, wealth and having more than you need. People decorate their houses with red banners with Chinese sayings. Traditionally you congratulate (gongxi) everyone you meet, often by clasping your hands together and shaking them in front of your chest. You also say "xinnian kuaile" (happy new year). Younger people get red envelopes (hongbao) containing money from their elders at this time of year. When you wish them "gongxi fa cai" (congratulations, get wealthy), they fire back with open hand "hongbao na(r)lai" (put a red envelope there). You might not think so, but it's actually quite endearing and nearly always done with a smile.

The above photo comes courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos and was taken by the photographer Tom Curtis.