新年快乐

[welsh_girl]

Re: 新年快乐

Happy New Year!

Get drunk, live it large.

[bmah]

Re: 新年快乐

So on what basis is this considered the start of the year? and why do most variations of the new year fall within 1 month of eachother.

The calendar is based on the lunar cycles and is therefore never aligned with the Gregorian calendar, but can vary anytime within January and February. Each "month" begins with the start of a new lunar cycle, and 12 cycles end up being less than 365 days (the exact number varies each year as well).

[hi19hi19]

Re: 新年快乐

yay lunar new year... eat your "long-life" noodles friends

[hi19hi19]

Re: 新年快乐

btw, language lesson:
新年快樂 Xin Nian Kuai Le (Mandarin) is the most literal way to say "Happy New Year"
This is extremely literal- Xin Nian means New Year, and Kuai Le is happy.
I'm pretty sure in Cantonese it is something like Sun Leen Fai Lok, but I've honestly never heard this said.
The characters in the title of this thread, 新年快乐, are the simplified version of this.

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin) and Gong Hey Fat Choy (Cantonese) is a more traditional, less literal way to greet the new year.
Translated it is something along the lines of "May prosperity be with you", as Gong Xi means to wish, and Fa Cai means to make money.
Written: 恭禧發財
Simplified: 恭禧发财


The Lunar New Year is most commonly associated with the Chinese among westerners (probably due to the popularity of the holiday in western Chinese restaurants), but many other cultures celebrate the Lunar New Year as well: (some are actually based on a lunisolar calendar, but these tend to fall very near to the same day on the Gregorian calendar)
Chinese New Year
Korean New Year (Seol-nal, 설날)
Tết, Vietnamese New Year
Japanese New Year (before 1873)
Losar, Tibetan New Year
Tsagaan Sar, Mongolian New Year (lunisolar)



themoreyouknow.jpg

[Reincarnate]

Re: 新年快乐

Xin = new
Nian = year
Kuai le = Happy/merry

Gong xi = congratulations/wishing of joy
Fa cai = Make money/become rich


edit: fack beat me to it. qing ni da wo de pigu

[hi19hi19]

Re: 新年快乐

qing ni da wo de pigu

lmfao that's quite an interesting insult

If you want to, feel free to explain the tradition of Hong Bao...

[EzExZeRo7497]

Re: 新年快乐

qing ni da wo de pigu

lmao

[Reincarnate]

Re: 新年快乐

I'm not asian so I don't know/I'm not familiar with the "tradition" of hong bao per se -- but my girlfriend is Chinese -- so we'll go to her parents' place where a bunch of family has gotten together to eat a toooonnnn of food for Chinese New Year. During that time, everyone gives each other red envelopes containing money (as far as I can tell it's largely from the older/married people down to the younger unmarried people).

I don't know the origin of the tradition but in all honesty, every single Chinese custom I've encountered so far is some form of perpetuating good luck and/or warding off evil influence/spirits, so I imagine it's alone those same lines. It's basically a small jump-start for the new year.

[MikeShinoda12345]

Re: 新年快乐

got 14600 NT today. woot.

[Reincarnate]

Re: 新年快乐

14600 New Taiwan dollars = 487.3159 US dollars

[hi19hi19]

Re: 新年快乐

got 14600 NT today. woot.

High roller 0_0

[robertsona]

Re: 新年快乐

新年快乐！再见残酷世界！

[Breakdown16]

Re: 新年快乐

Traditional Chinese is dying.

But 新年快樂 to all, and I envy those of you who are able to spend it with family. No 紅包 for me this year, ha ha.