Gung Hay Fat Choy

Or in English "Best Wishes & Congratulations. Have a Prosperous and good year!"

Chinese Lunar New Year is such a vibrant and colorful time.

• Houses are decorated with red and gold decorations or couplets that carry messages of good luck,good health, prosperity, happiness and long life.

• Flowers, tangerines, oranges and pomelos are picked and displayed. The colors of these items symbolize good luck and joy.
  
• Blossoms symbolize longevity and courage.
• Candy trays of candied melon, coconut, lotus seed and watermelon seed are offered. They signify growth, good health, abundance and togetherness.
• On the seventh day of the New Year everyone adds a year to their age no matter when they were born. Traditional China individual birthdays are not as important as this New Year Date.
  

The time before the holiday is traditionally spent cleaning the house, settling family debts and buying new clothes. It always signals that end of winter and the beginning of spring and for me it really does seem that the days get longer and brighter. I love this holiday because every one of them that I have celebrated over the years with my Asian friends has been a delight. The table is loaded with wonderful traditional Chinese dishes and there is much joy and laughter shared around the table. I love it.
This year is the year of the Rat. The first sign in the Zodiak. People born in the Year of the Rat are noted for their charm and attraction for the opposite sex. They work hard to achieve their goals, acquire possessions, and are likely to be perfectionists. They are basically thrifty with money. Rat people are easily angered and love to gossip. Their ambitions are big, and they are usually very successful. They are most compatible with people born in the years of the Dragon, Monkey, and Ox.

Some famous people born in the year of the rat: Alyssa Milano, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lauren Bacall, Ben Afflect, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare and Mozart!

I am born in the year of the Dragon. The Dragon and the Rat are good buddies ( this should come as no surprise to gt281) and that makes this year a good year for Dragons. I am told that this is the year to pursue my dreams and that 2008 should be a positive year.