Happy Chinese New Year!

What does Gung Hay Fat Choyreally mean? If you have ever watched the movie Flower Drum Song, they say that to each other during Chinese New Year. Bob Hope has said it (with a pretty funny accent - well, you know Bob Hope!) Former San Francisco mayor Dianne Feinstein has spoken it like a native.

China has two major languages: Cantonese and Mandarin. If you go to a Chinese restaurant, the menu probably features either Cantonese or Mandarin cuisine. Gung Hay Fat Choy is Cantonese. To wish someone a happy new year in Mandarin, the words are "Xin Nian Yu Kuai." And don't ask me how to pronounce it! I'm sticking with the Cantonese version.

The Holy Mtn. Trading Company's website says that Gung Hay Fat Choy translates as "Congratulations on prospering in money." And all this time you were going around thinking that you were saying "Happy New Year!"

See, the Chinese are miles ahead of most of the rest of the world when it comes to understanding the movement of energy, and the laws of attraction. They are congratulating each other, acknowledging something as though it is already attracted (or achieved). When people focus on something, it becomes attracted to them!

It is customary to give money in red envelopes (lai see) to children during Chinese New Year. This is sort of like Trick or Treating... only better! Bear in mind that each envelope does not traditionally contain a huge amount of money (by the way, well-mannered Chinese children know that it is not polite to tear open the red envelopes in front of the grown ups).

When should you wish people "Gung hay fat Choy?" This year, Chinese New Year falls on February 18, 2007.

What can we expect from 2007, The Year of the Pig (or the boar)? Actually, this is the year of the purple fire boar, Chinese year number 4705. When a year is aligned with the fire symbol, it is said to have accentuated qualities.