What to Say and Not to Say

Yes, you must say auspicious greetings during lunar new year. For those non-Chinese and people not comfortable in Chinese, you may say it in English (hanyu pinyin and English translation as below):

1. Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财 Congratulations to you striking wealth

2. Sheng Yi Xing Long 生意兴隆 Booming business to you

3. Jinyu Mangtang 金玉满堂 May your wealth come to fill a hall

4. Dazhan Hongtu 大展宏图 May you realize your ambitions

5. Yingchun Jiefu 迎春接福 Greet the New Year and welcome bliss

6. Wanshi Ruyi 万事如意 May all your wishes be fulfilled

7. Fushou Shuangquan 福寿双全 May your happiness & longevity be complete

8. Zhaocai Jinbao 招财进宝 When wealth is acquired, precious objects follow

9. Caiyuan Guangjin 财源广进 Money and money sources come in abundance

10。Shenti Jiankang 身体建康 Good health to You. This is actually the most important greeting, though often overlooked

What Not To Say: Caiyuan Gungun 财源滚滚 as this sounds like 裁员滚滚 'Retrench you and get lost!

Also don't say Hongbao Nalai 红包拿来 (please give my red packet now) as this is definitely very rude!

If the above seems too difficult, just say Xinnian Kuaile 新年快乐 Happy New Year!

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions.

Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors. These include Koreans (Seollal), Bhutanese (Losar), and Vietnamese cultures.

Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity".

On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes.

The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

By Andy Ng, Asia Trainers. If you too want to get the most out of your team, and most importantly, make money from our training, email to me at andy@asiacoachingtraining.com, visit http://www.asiatrainers.com/SeminarsList.php or call Andy Ng at 6225-17984 during office hours.

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