Kung Hei Fat Choi

We have been hearing the phrase "Kung Hei Fat Choi" a lot over the past few days.  It seems to be the traditional greeting around the New Year holiday.  At first I thought it simply meant "Happy New Year."  But with a little research, I found out it really means "May you become prosperous."

The actual date of the Chinese new year changes each year because it is based on the lunar calendar.  Lunar New Year's day is usually the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice, and this year that is Friday January 31.  For the quantitatively-oriented, starting the New Year on the 31st is a hard concept to grasp.  The holiday extends through the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, so businesses are closed through Monday February 3 at least.

The lobby of Carolyn's office building, World-Wide House

Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday celebration in Hong Kong of the year.  In the run up to the holiday, we have seen trees decorated with "red packets" spring up everywhere.  Building entryways have become crowded with mandarin trees and large chrysanthemum plants.  Shopping (which is normally the center of the universe in Hong Kong) shuts down and people typically have a big New Year's Eve dinner with family.  One particularly amusing tradition is that on day three, you are supposed to avoid family as that is the day you are likely to quarrel.  On New Year's Day, there will be a Lion Dance outside our apartment building and a big parade in Central, followed by fireworks over Victoria Harbour in the evening. 

Red packets and crisp, new bills for giving "Lai See"

Gift giving is a big part of the New Year celebration, and the "red packets" are the key to it all.  Red packets, or "Lai See" which means "good luck," are little red envelopes, typically with Chinese characters on the front.  One puts money into them to give away.  But there is an art to that as well.  It's customary to put just a single bill into the envelope (not multiple bills or coins), and the bills should be new and crisp.  People literally line up for hours at the banks to exchange their money so that it will be just right.  The amount given should be an even number, and it should not involve a "4" since the words for "four" and "die" sound very similar in Cantonese, and that's considered bad luck.  The red packet should be presented with both hands.  And the last rule to remember is that you don't hand them out until after the New Year has started.

After a crash course on all of this from a work colleague, I went on a frantic search for some red envelopes and crispy new bills to put in them.  The housekeeper and doormen at our apartment building seemed genuinely pleased to receive the little red envelopes from us, while somewhat amused at our attempts to say Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Jeff presenting our doorman with Lai See