Chinese New Year 2007-Year of the Pig, February 18

"Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4705 begins on Feb. 18, 2007."

"Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Mahalia Jackson, David Letterman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were all born in the year of the pig."

"If you were born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983 or 1995 - you were born under the sign of the pig. Like the pig, you are highly regarded for your chilvary and pureness of heart, and you often make friends for life. For pigs in 2007, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome so look forward to a year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally."

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/chinesenewyear1.html

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jan 12 2007, 07:07 PM) [snapback]375003[/snapback]</div>

Am already planning for a good meal.

It is not a 1-day event like it is here. By the beginning of February there will already be some action.

"New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year."

 

Chinese Zodiac-the 12 animal signs and years

"What sign are you? The Chinese have attributed specific characteristics to those born under the signs of 12 animals. The following is a brief description of the different animal traits and the corresponding birth years."

http://www.infoserve.net/dragongate/zodiac.htm

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jan 13 2007, 01:21 PM) [snapback]375240[/snapback]</div>

The referenced new year greeting in the Cantonese dialect is most commonly used and known in the United States as a result of the large population of the first wave of Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong and Canton. The northern dialect of Beijing and the language of the government seat is Mandarin. With the next wave of Chinese immigration from mainland China and Taiwan, Mandarin is now more commonly heard, and in a group with multiple dialects, the Mandarin new year greeting, Gong Xi Fa Cai (Pinyin) (Gung Syi Fa Tsai, Yale) would be used as the lingua franca although there are numerous Chinese dialects, in most cases mutually unintelligible to each other, but back to the meal....hmm

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Jan 12 2007, 07:53 PM) [snapback]375035[/snapback]</div>

This is neat. I knew I wasn't the only one anticipating another new year celebration.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jan 13 2007, 06:20 PM) [snapback]375326[/snapback]</div>

Romanization of Asian languages allows for variations in Western spelling as the word itself would be written in a Chinese character (pictograph) in China recognizable by all, and would be the same character throughout China regardless of the changes in pronunciation of the numerous dialects. As a result, the Western spellings can be a free-for-all of sorts. Cai would be using the Pinyin Romanization system as developed in Beijing whereas the tsai spelling would be used in the Yale phonetic system developed in the US. (edit above post) The different romanization systems can be confusing at first. Interesting to see that many more students in various countries throughout the world are now interested in learning Mandarin Chinese by the time they are in high school.