XIN NIAN KUAI LE, HAPPY NEW YEAR

GONG XI  GONG XI, GONG XI FA CAI
Wishing you a happy & prosperous New Year

WAN SZE RU YEE
May all your good wishes come true

LOONG MA JING SHEN
May there be good health and good energy

CAI YUAN GUANG JIN
Wealth pours in from all directions

NIAN NIAN YOU YU
A wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year

These are a few of the unique Chinese auspicious greetings one would friendly greet  one another during the new year.

Time have wings, time flies!   It seem like only yesterday we celebrated the year of the rabbit and now comes the dragon.......... Wow!

True and behold, a few of my overseas non-Chinese friends were ahead of me, they have sent me email blessings, images of Dragon and other New Year charms of all kinds back in early January. Not only that they enquired what are the traditions, what type of food, delicacies etc... This prompted me to share what Chinese New Year is all about, not everything but some of the main images, charms and symbols thru my art and craft.

Having said that,  I have very much earlier given 50 packets of Lei-si ( red packets) to my son for all his boarding mates in Britain in conjunction with the International Cultural Day on 15 Jan.  The boys were  thrilled and full of curiosity to receive a red packet each with a dragon embossment and lucky money inside.  Well, I left it to Jing, to do the explanation.

This  Lunar New Year will be celebrated on Jan 23rd.  This year marks the 4709th Chinese year and it's the year of the Dragon, the 5th sign of the Chinese zodiac.  So the year of the dragon returns with all its might and power after every 12 years. I have a 'dragon' at home, do you?

To welcome this Spring Festival, I have created a "FOOK' Configurative box showcasing some of the New Year images, charms and symbols, all my precious lil finds during my last trip to Hong Kong and Japan.
Take a peek......

It's so apt to find from one of our collectibles, a jade colored porcelain stool with the image of a dragon at the front and it nicely compliments my "FOOK" Configuration box.

Standing tall supported by 'dragons'......

The main auspicious charm here is the dragon which brings success and "Fook"

The back of the box so dragonish....

In the Chinese culture, the dragon usually symbolize wisdom, power and good luck.

Dragon charms are used as a popular feng shui cure. A golden dragon can be a great feng shui cure for wealth and abundance while a green dragon is more for  giving good health.

Dragons are made a part of the Chinese astrology where importance is given to the blue dragon. The Chinese believe that the blue dragon is full of power and strength and the Creator of division in the sky.
Blue dragon is also the symbol of spring and so it has been taken as a Chinese animal zodiac sign.

Another dragon charm found in Hong Kong

The dragon charms are regarded as auspicious symbols which stands for power, good luck, success, happiness and is meant to be inspiring for society.

Chinese New Year is a time to welcome wealth, good fortune and prosperity, all symbolized by the gold ingots, big ones and smaller ones...

By placing gold ingots in your house, it is believe you will attract wealth and prosperity.

The character ' Fook' which is 'Good Fortune' symbolize bliss and endurance to the wish. This Jade Good Luck charm will bring money luck wherever you go.

This is another lovely "Fook"

It is only during the Chinese New Year that the character 'Fook" is turned upside down.

Vases are symbolic of peace.  When the form of the vase is elongated the wish is for an enduring peace.  A rounded vase suggest the wish for a complete peace!

Chinese coins are symbolic of wealth. A rounded coin suggest the wish for a complete wealth.

There's my miniature 'God of Wealth".  People honor the " God of Wealth", hoping he will bring great fortune to the family in the coming months.

Chinese New Year is a time to welcome not only wealth and prosperity but more so longevity. The crane is auspicious in both Chinese and Japanese cultures., it's a symbol of longevity. What I have here,  is a Japanese origami crane made of ceramic.

The Chinese adopted the dragon as a symbol of nobility and some consider it as a God, one to be worshipped. Thus dragons appear in every area of Chinese culture.  There are dragons in the mahjong game.  Each of the 3 dragons - green, white and red represent the Universe Extreme forces. Green for earth, white for Heaven and red for Man.  Those in the picture are not dragon tiles, there is the circle tile (Tong Zi) ranked 5, the season tiles (Ji Pai) and the character tiles (Wan Zi) ranked 8.  Mahjong is played often by many during the Chinese new year. Shall we have a round of mahjong, any kaki?

The Chinese new year holiday spirit is on, let's get ready to Bainian!   As Chinese would stay up on the New Year's eve till the early morning of the first day of the New Year, when the very moment of new year arrives, people would say Bainian, Bainian (Happy New Year) to everyone around and say some auspicious phrases like 'Gong Xi Fa Cai'.  Children should go Bainian to their grandparents, parents and everyone.

With this, here's wishing you 

Gong Xi Fa Cai, Shen Ti Jian Kang (Wishing good health)

May the New Year be filled with a life full of energy and positivity

May the doors of fortune, plenty and abundance stay open to you

May you look forward to a year of great wealth and excellent health

May the opportunities that come your way be fruitful and prosperous

May noble thoughts and values govern your life in the year of the dragon!

And to my non-Chinese friends,

May you have a great year filled with love, joy, peace, happiness, success and good health!