Chinese New Year - A Crash Course

Chinese New Year 2022 is coming soon!

If you're living in Asia, you'll have noticed that decorations are up everywhere, repetitive music blasting from the speakers of departmental stores, gifts couriered to the office by vendors, and even HR sending out a company-wide email about a half day on 31 Jan. For those living where it isn't as widely celebrated, well, it's coming pretty soon - 1st Feb actually.

For the benefit of the uninitiated, let me give you a crash course. For those familiar to this, just humor me.

When is Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is the celebration of the arrival of Spring, new life, new harvest, new year. The first day of Chinese New Year starts on 1st February this year. The dates are different every year as it is based on the Lunar Calendar.

Chinese New Year is normally celebrated for 15 days and the actual start of festivities is the eve of Chinese New Year. On the eve of Chinese New Year, most families have their Reunion Dinner, where the whole family gets together for a sumptuous meal.

This means don't organize any meetings on this day even if your colleagues are not on leave. Seriously. Don't be an asshole. It's like making someone work on Thanksgiving.

How do you wish someone who is celebrating Chinese New Year?

You can just say "Happy New Year" but "Happy Chinese New Year" is fine too (the former is enough really - you don't need to differentiate).

You can also add in popular Chinese wishes like:

• 恭喜发财 gong1 xi3 fa1 cai2 (Wishing you prosperity)
• 万事如意 wan4 shi4 ru2 yi4 (Success in everything you do)
• 身体健康 sheng1 ti3 jian4 kang1 (Wishing you health - very important especially during the pandemic)
• 大吉大利 da4 ji2 da4 li4 (Wishing you a lot of good fortune)
• 年年有余 nian2 nian2 you3 yu2 (May you be blessed with abundance always)
• 平平安安 ping2 ping2 an1 an1 (Peace and Happiness)
• 吉祥如意 ji2 xiang2 ru2 yi4 (Good fortune and success in everything you do)

Since it is the year of the Tiger, you can also use the following:

• 虎年大吉 hu3 nian2 da4 ji2 (Good fortune in the year of the tiger)
• 虎虎生威 hu3 hu3 sheng1 wei1 (Vigor & Vitality in the year of the tiger)
• 龙腾虎跃 long3 teng2 hu3 yue4 (Soar like a dragon and leap like a tiger - vigor in all your actions)

For wishes specific to work:

• 工作顺利 gong1 zuo4 shun4 li4 (Success in your work)
• 步步高升 bu4 bu4 gao1 sheng1 (Onwards and upwards - keep getting promoted)
• 事业有成 shi4 ye4 you3 cheng2 (Success in your career)

Do I give them a gift?

While it is not mandatory, it is sometimes customary for bosses to give red packets to each member of their team. The amount is usually a token amount, usually in denominations of 8 or 10. Sometimes companies may budget for this too.

You may also give small gifts to your team - Chinese New Year snacks are most common, but you may also give other things as well.

What about a Lion Dance?

For many companies in Singapore and Malaysia, it is common to invite a lion dance troupe in to bless the office. It is seen as good luck and good way to welcome in the new year.

The lion goes from desk to desk. If you want the lion to bless your desk, place two oranges with a small red packet on your desk. Leave a calculator there as well.

The lion will create a Chinese character with your oranges and leave you 4 lucky numbers on your calculator.

What is Lo Hei or Yu Sheng?

Lo hei literally means "lift up" in Cantonese. Yu Sheng means raw fish. It is actually "lo yu sheng", which means lift raw fish. Chinese love their puns, so the combination of words sound like "raising up our good fortune".

What this actually is, is a tossing and mixing of a salad - which is done together in groups. Each ingredient is symbolic, and auspicious wishes are shouted out before they are added into the mixing plate. Once all ingredients are in, everybody starts the tossing and mixing, exclaiming auspicious wishes as they do (refer to the above if you have no idea what to say).

What is the Spring Migration?

The Spring Migration is unique to China and parts of Asia. In the 2 weeks prior to Chinese New Year, there is a massive movement of people across China and parts of Asia as people return home to attend the reunion dinner and celebrate Chinese New Year with their families. The sheer scale of people moving around is the reason why it is called the Spring Migration.

Tickets are extremely expensive and hard to get during this time. Hence, please be understanding if your co-worker has to take leave in advance. They usually do not have a choice.

So that's it! Hope this has been helpful and I wish everybody a Happy Chinese New Year!