‘As The Travel Bug’s human Dad is Chinese, he knows quite a bit about the culture and is gearing up to celebrate the Year of the Dog this weekend with his family…’
His favourite thing about Chinese culture is the food, but he also quite likes the fact that the Chinese New Year is so close to the other New Year and he can stuff his little face with food again and not be judged for it…
Animals
There are 12 animals in the Chinese New Year cycle (none of them are bugs, sadly) and once all have come and gone, the cycle begins again. The correct order for this is: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
Good Fortune
Chinese people wish each other a Happy New Year with the phrase ‘Gung Hei Fat Choy’, which roughly translates as ‘May You Have Good Fortune’. TTB will be wishing his Dad Gung Hei Fat Choy on Friday and also giving him some home made fortune cookies…if they last until then.
Red
Red is seen as a sign of good luck in Chinese culture and Travel Bug knows this because his human Mum’s wedding dress was red instead of white. People often wear red clothing at New Year, give gifts of money in red envelopes, and cuddle red ladybugs during NY celebrations. The bit about the ladybugs isn’t actually true, but TTB is mostly red and he is almost definitely a sign of good luck for everyone who snuggles him. The use of red symbolises fire, which, according to tradition, prevents bad luck.
Do you have any fascinating facts about Chinese New Year to share with the Travel Bug??
Gung Hei Fat Choy!
