“Gung hei fat choi! Sun nin fai lok!” Or in other words, “Be prosperous and happy new year!” Generally, many people may think that “Gung hei fat choi” means happy new year, but it actually translates to, “Wishing you prosperity,” “be prosperous” or “good luck and fortune.” “Sun nin fai lok” translates to “Happy New Year.”

Are there any pigs out there? The year of the pig, that is. If you were born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995 or 2007 you are born under the sign of the pig according to the Chinese zodiac.

The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco’s website said, “People born in the Year of the Pig are chivalrous and gallant. Whatever they do, they do with all their strength. For Pig Year people, there is no left or right and there is no retreat. They have tremendous fortitude and great honesty. They don’t make many friends, but they make them for life, and anyone having a Pig Year friend is fortunate for they are extremely loyal. They don’t talk much, but have a great thirst for knowledge. They study a great deal and are generally well-informed. Pig people are quick-tempered, yet they hate arguments and quarreling. They are kind to their loved ones. No matter how bad problems seem to be, Pig people try to work them out, honestly if sometimes impulsively.”

Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 18th this year and is the largest and most significant traditional holiday in Chinese culture. It is also known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year. Every year Chinese New Year falls on a different day because it goes according to the lunar calendar. This holiday is celebrated worldwide in areas with large populations of Chinese people. Although New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, festivities and celebrations can go on for up to 15 days in some places.

Whether or not you are Chinese, and whether or not you celebrate the New Year, you’ve probably learned about the holiday at some point in your life.

Justin Brown is African American and Jewish, and he spends Chinese New Year with his Chinese girlfriend.

“I remember in grade school we used to make little lanterns out of colored construction paper for Chinese New Year. Every year teachers would always have some type of activity for Chinese New Year,” Brown said. Many people have done some type of elementary activity as children to help school them on the Chinese New Year tradition.

People who celebrate Chinese New Year are probably squirming with excitement and anticipation just waiting for the next few days to pass. There are many things to look forward to when celebrating the new year.

Massive feasts and loads of finger foods are major perquisites of the New Year festivities. Fish is often a main dish at Chinese New Year feasts. Several different types of vegetable dishes are eaten; bok choy is a primary favorite. It is a cabbage-like vegetable in the mustard family. Aside from dinner entrees, many sweets and snacks are eaten.

When family members visit one another, it is common to bring over a box of Chinese good luck candy or a tin container with turnip or taro cakes, also known as moon cakes. Dumplings are one of the most popular treats consumed during this holiday. These dumplings vary with filing: some are filled with red bean paste and some are filled with barbeque pork. These dumplings are considered to bring good luck.

Danny Chuong, a sophomore business major at Sac State, spends several days celebrating Chinese New Year with his large family.

“Before New Years Day we clean the whole entire house thoroughly, from top to bottom. We spend the whole day before just cleaning. On New Year’s Day we have a large dinner with all of the family. We eat all the expensive foods. We eat shark fin soup, duck, chicken, lobster, crab and vegetables,” said Choung, who is of full Chinese descent.

Shark fin soup is a very expensive delicacy in Chinese culture and is only eaten on special occasions.

The most prominent part of celebrating Chinese New Year has to be the giving of “hong bao” or “leih sih.” These are small red envelopes that elderly or married couples give out to those who are not yet married. The envelopes contain money in even sums ranging anywhere from a couple to hundreds of dollars. This is an exciting tradition, especially for young children. The days that surround New Year’s Day are always busy and full of revelry. From the Chinatown in San Francisco to the Chinatown in London, from Beijing to Sydney, streets and marketplaces are abundantly decorated high and low with colorful lanterns, strings of firecrackers, red and gold paper, good luck symbols and floral or cherry blossom fixtures.

While walking the streets during a Chinese New Year celebration, sounds of drums, firecrackers, Chinese music and happy voices can be heard. The smell of incense and smoke fill the air while parades and wild lion dances take place. The lion dance consists of three people under a large colorful moving dragon costume who perform a dance in front of many markets or small stores. This is a traditional ritual that is supposed to bring good luck.

Choung keeps firecrackers available on hand. “We set off firecrackers outside our house during the New Year’s celebration to scare off all the evil spirits,” he said.

Sophomore accounting major Johnnie Voong is also Chinese and celebrates Chinese New Year in similar ways to Choung, but many things differ. He explains a traditional ritual in which a general cleansing is done prior to New Year’s Day.

“We take showers and get our hair cut before New Year’s Day. Once the day comes, we do not shower or cut our hair and this lasts for a couple days. It’s a tradition and is done so that we are fresh for the New Year, and we do not shower so that we do not wash away all of the New Year’s luck,” Voong said.

Voong’s favorite part of the New Year is spending time with his family and visiting the temple. Both Voong and Choung visit the Buddhist Temple before and after New Year’s Day to pray and worship the gods. Many different people with different ethnic backgrounds celebrate Chinese New Year. Chinese people are just one of them. The majority of Vietnamese people also celebrate Chinese New Year. Other ethnicities such as Hmong, Mien, Thai, Korean and Cambodian also celebrate the New Year. Although different cultural backgrounds may not refer to the New Year as “Chinese New Year,” they all celebrate it in similar ways. Certain aspects of celebration also differ. Brown grew up in large Mien community and said, “instead of giving out red envelopes, Mien people give out vibrantly colored eggs as a sign of good luck. I used to get them all the time from my Mien friends.”

Melissa Le, a senior business major who is Vietnamese and celebrates Chinese New Year every year, participates in all the normal festivities such as exchanging red envelopes, setting off firecrackers and celebrating for several days.

“My family is very superstitious. Everything that is done on the first day of the New Year is supposed to reflect the rest of the year. This means no crying, arguing, spending money and throwing away trash. Throwing away trash is a sign of wasting,” Le said.

Le’s father decides which of her five siblings will arrive at the house first. The first person to arrive will have the most luck for the New Year. “It’s a little bit odd, but it’s another superstitious belief,” Le said. Celebrating Chinese New Year has become a worldwide tradition. “It’s a warming event that brings in happiness and most of all, good luck,” Brown said. The celebration of this holiday has become very universal, Chinese or not, to participate. It is highly likely to find Chinese New Year events, parades, parties and festivities taking place during the months of January or February in every city or town. So this Sunday, don’t forget to say, “Gung hei fat choi” to a friend and wish them a little good luck. Mindy Yuen can be reached at [email protected]