Happy New Year and "Kiong Hee Huat Tsai"

Advance Happy New Year to our Filipino-Chinese brothers… and to all Chinese in the world.  “Kung Hei Fat Choi!!!”… For all these years I thought I was greeting someone a “Happy New Year” in Chinese.  But if you greet them that don’t worry, it’s not wrong.  We just often mistaken it as “Happy New Year”, but “Kung Hei Fat Choi!” is Cantonese for greeting, “Congratulations and be prosperous! Or Congratulations and wishing you prosperity”.  However, considering that majority of the Chinese Filipinos speaks Hokkien, I suggest that we say the greeting in Hokkien, which is "Kiong Hee Huat Tsai" which means just the same.  Why??? Kasi daw para kang nagbibisaya sa Tagalog.  Just for information, in Mandarin it is “Gong Xi Fa Cai”.

Here are additional trivia about the Chinese New Year. Enjoy and God bless:

Ø  The Chinese New Year 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit,
which is also known by its formal name of Xin Mao.

Ø  It will be held this coming February 03, 2011.  It is the first day of the Chinese New Year.

Ø  And it is Year 4708 in the Chinese calendar.

The Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries. It predates the International Calendar (based on the Gregorian Calendar) in use at the present, which goes back only some 430 years. Basically, a calendar is a system we use to measures the passage of time, from short durations of minutes and hours, to intervals of time measured in days, months, years and centuries. These are fundamentally based on the astronomical observations of the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars.  Days are measured by the duration of time of one self rotation of the earth. Months are measured by the duration of time of rotation of the moon around the earth. Years are measured by the duration of time it takes for the earth to rotate around the Sun.

Ø  Chinese New Year Celebration Day:

2007 Feb 18
2008 Feb 7
2009 Jan 26
2010 Feb 14
2011 Feb 3
2012 Jan 23

Ø  There are three ways to name a Chinese year:

1. By the zodiac animal

2008 is known as the Year of the Rat.
2009 is the Year of the Ox.
2010 is the Year of the Tiger

There are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are repeated every 12 years.

THE CHINESE ZODIAC CHART (Simplified)

Rat 子- Zodiac Animal

Senju Kannon – Buddhist Patron

N – Compass Direction

1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 – Year of Birth

Ox 丑

Kokūzō Bosatsu

NE

1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009

Tiger 寅

Kokūzō Bosatsu

NE

1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010

Hare or Rabbit 卯

Monju Bosatsu

E

1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011

Dragon 辰

Fugen Bosatsu

SE

1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012

Snake 巳

Fugen Bosatsu

SE

1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013

Horse 午

Seishi Bosatsu

S

1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014

Sheep 未

Dainichi Nyorai

SW

1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015

Monkey 申

Dainichi Nyorai

SW

1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016

Rooster 酉

Fudō Myō-ō

W

1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017

Dog 戌

Amida Nyorai

NW

1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018

Boar or Pig 亥

Amida Nyorai

NW

1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019

2. By the Stem-Branch Formal Name

2011 is the year of XinMao .
2010 is the year of Geng Yin .
2009 is the Year of Ji Chou.

In the 'Stem-Branch' system, the Name of the Year is repeated every 60 years.
2011 is the 12th year in the current 60-year Cycle.
2010 is the 11th year in the current 60-year Cycle.
2009 is the 10th year in the current 60-year Cycle. 

3. By its Year Number

          2012 is Year 4709 by Chinese Calendar.
          2011 is Year 4708 by Chinese Calendar.
          2010 is Year 4707 by Chinese Calendar.
          2009 is Year 4706 by Chinese Calendar

Ø  HOW TO PREPARE FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR:

• Decorate house doors with red scrolls on which Chinese characters are written and hang up red paper lanterns.

• Make sure there are healthy, preferably blooming, plants around the house. They symbolize life and  renewal.
• Settle all debts. You must not owe anyone money.
• Thoroughly clean the house before the first day of the year.
• Get a haircut and wear new clothes.