February 7 - Chinese New Year - Year of the Rat or Mouse

"Congratulations and be prosperous, now give me a red envelope."

Year of happiness, ... And in the world of dreams, it is considered an auspicious sign when a white mouse ...

The Chinese New Year is often accompanied by loud, enthusiastic greetings, often referred to as 吉祥話 (Jíxiánghùa), or loosely translated as auspicious words or phrases. Some of the most common examples may include:

Happy New Year

simplified Chinese: 新年快乐; traditional Chinese: 新年快樂; pinyin: Xīnnián kuàilè; Hokkien POJ: Sin-nî khòai-lo̍k; Cantonese: San nin faai lok. A more contemporary greeting reflective of western influences, it literally translates from the greeting "Happy new year" more common in the west. But in northern parts of China, traditionally people say simplified Chinese: 过年好; traditional Chinese: 過年好; pinyin: Guo Nian Hao instead of simplified Chinese: 新年快乐, to differentiate it from the international new year. And 過年好 can be used from the first day to the fifth day of Chinese new year.

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 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. Asians 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.

Bad luck

• Buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese. The word "shoes" is a homophone for the word for "rough" in Cantonese, or "evil" in Mandarin.
• Buying a pair of pants is considered bad luck. The word "pants"(kù) is a homophone for the word for "bitter"(kŭ) in Cantonese. (Although some perceive it to be positive, as the word 'pants'(fu) in Cantonese is also a homophone for the word for "wealth".)
• 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.
• Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious as well.
• Buying books is bad luck because the word for "book" is a homonym to the word "lose".
• Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional funeral colour.

Other greetings

Numerous other greetings exist, some of which may be exclaimed out loud to no one in particular in specific situations. For example, as breaking objects during the new year is considered inauspicious, one may then say 歲歲平安 (Suìsuì píng'ān) immediately, which means everlasting peace year after year. 歲 (Suì, meaning "age") is homophonous with 碎 (meaning "shatter"), in demonstration of the Chinese love for wordplay in auspicious phrases. Similarly, 年年有餘 (Niánnián yǒuyú), a wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year, plays on the word yú to also refer to 魚 (meaning fish), making it a catch phrase for fish-based Chinese new year dishes and for paintings or graphics of fish that are hung on walls or presented as gifts.

These greetings or phrases may also be used just before children receive their red packets, when gifts are exchanged, when visiting temples, or even when tossing the shredded ingredients of yusheng particularly popular in Malaysia and Singapore.

Irreverent children may jokingly use the phrase (Traditional Chinese:恭喜發財,紅包拿來, Simplified Chinese: 恭喜发财，红包拿来) (Mandarin PinYin: Gōngxǐ fācái, hóngbāo nálái) ( Cantonese: 恭喜發財,利是逗來 ), roughly translated as "Congratulations and be prosperous, now give me a red envelope."

Back in the 1970s, children in Hong Kong used the saying: 恭喜發財,利是逗來,伍毫嫌少,壹蚊唔愛 (Cantonese), roughly translated as, "Happy New Year, now give me a red envelope, fifty cents is too little, don't want a dollar either." It basically meant that they disliked small change - coins which were called "hard substance" (Cantonese: 硬嘢). Instead, they wanted "soft substance" (Cantonese: 軟嘢), which was either a ten dollar or a twenty dollar bill.