Gong Xi Fa Cai*

This is the Lunar New Year of the Rat, the White Metal Rat!

In chinese culture, the rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. They are quick thinkers and clever, and use their charm and aggressiveness to succeed in all endeavours, although they are also content with living a quiet and peaceful life. So it is natural that the Rat is a zodiac sign of hard work, independence, and success. The people born under the sign of the rat are forthright honest and easygoing… they are born in 2008, 1996, 1984, 1972, 1960, 1948. Every year of rat is associated to one of the 5 elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. In the terms of Ying-Yang, the rat is yang and represents the beginning of a new day.

This is the biggest holiday in the Chinese community, and most of Chinese people are taking just these 2 to 3 weeks vacation leave in the entire year. It was actually the only time that some shops were closed in Singapore!

I remember my Chinese friends and colleagues preparing the festive season by cleaning their house before the holiday, cutting their hairs and buying new clothes and new furnitures. It is a good season to renew your house style! People would plan to visit all their relatives and eat eat eat… They also typically exchange commonly 2 tangerines, symbols of wealth, good luck, and good fortune and distribute red envelops filled with money in multiple of $2, especially to the children.

I know that my friends and family in Singapore are partying right now, I wish I would be there with you, cheers! Wishing health and prosperity to everybody! Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

*”Happy New Year” in Chinese