Chinese (Lunar) New Year

Today is Saturday, February 10th, 2024.  Its also the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac.

恭喜發財!

Gong xi fa cai!  (the “o” in Gong is long, xi is pronounced “shee”, fa is easy enough, and cai is pronounced “ts-eye”). That is “Wishing You Prosperity” and is a Happy (Lunar) New Year greeting in Mandarin.  In Cantonese, its “Kung hay fat choy”.

You can also say, Xin Nian Kwai Le (shin-nyen-kwhy-luh) which all together means 'New Year Happy” or Happy new year.

Traditionally, the preparations include a thorough cleaning of the house (to sweep away any bad luck) to prepare for good luck in the new year.  There is also usually a big dinner party for as many friends and relatives as can attend.  Lastly there are “Hong Bao” or Red Envelopes.

These envelopes usually contain money, and while not a lot of money, any bills usually have the number “8” in the serial number.  The more number 8’s, the luckier. Some children will call out, “Gong shi fa Cai, Hong bao na lai!”  Meaning Happy New Year, give me a red envelope!

A good gift to give Asian friends, is fruit.  Fruit shows that you care about the person’s health. But you must be very careful not to give four of any kind of fruit, as the number “four” (si, fourth tone,  四 ) is too similar sounding to “death” (si, third tone, 死 ).  So you can give two of any fruit, or six or eight pieces, but not four.  Odd numbers are not as lucky as even numbers.

Clocks, watches, or any kind of time piece are also considered bad luck.  If you give one of these to an Asian person its like you are calculating the time you are forced to be with them, and is a real bummer.

Taking time to greet folks in their native language is a great way to show them you care about them, and understanding their customs makes it even more personal.

Whenever I hear folks speaking Chinese, I try to insert myself into the conversation.  I know its probably a little rude, but its also tremendous fun. One time I heard an elderly couple chatting in Mandarin, and so I went up and said Excuse me, introduced myself and asked them where they were from, in Mandarin. 

The lady looked at me and said in perfect Engish, “Are speaking Chinese to me?”

I said, “I thought I was, is my accent that bad?”

She said, “No, no, your accent is actually very good.  But I just didn’t expect a person with that face to be speaking Chinese.” She further explained that for some Chinese, speaking their language while being a Caucasian westerner was like having a dog stand up on its hind legs and start speaking Chinese. (There was no insult intended in any of that, she just wanted to clearly express how strange it was.)

I wasn’t offended, considering it was me who started the whole thing.  Then her husband started chatting to me as well and we had a great time. It turned out that they were from Taiwan, and when I told them where I had lived in Taipei city, they said they had often walked in the nearby park, that wasn’t even a block away.

That method of starting up conversations can backfire on you, though.  One time at an airport I was sitting in the same area as a group of Chinese folks and they were all speaking Mandarin. When I sat down, naturally enough they started talking about me.

I waited a good 10 minutes and then said in Mandarin, “You all should be careful because sometimes “Big Noses” can understand and speak your language.”  They started laughing uproariously and the conversation got even more rowdy, with me being the butt of many jokes.  All in good fun of course.  By the way, “Big Noses” is a common nickname for westerners, particularly from Europe, Canada or the U.S.

Gong shi fa cai!