2014 – Year of the Horse – signifying people who are high-spirited, charming and fun to be with.The spirit of the horse is recognized to be the Chinese people’s ethos – making unremitting efforts to improve themselves. It is energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able.

At Chinese New Year celebrations, which is the biggest and most joyous holiday in the Chinese calendar, people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children “lucky money” in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. Noodles, a symbol of a long life, are always served. This is also a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each others homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year’s Eve.

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. This year Chinese New Year begins on January 31. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

Traditional Chinese: 恭禧發財; Simplified: 恭禧发财.