The dragon takes over from the rabbit as the 5th animal* in a 12-year
cycle in the Chinese zodiac in 2024. Chinese New Year begins 10 February in 2024, and auspicious language will be the norm from the eve of the 1st day till the
15th day of the lunar new year.
 |
| A wish for lots of business opportunities: 生意兴隆. |
Generic auspicious greetings include 新年快乐 (xin nian kuai le), 'happy new year' and 恭喜发财 (gong xi fa cai), 'congratulations on receiving
riches and prosperity'. Riches are synonymous with success in Chinese culture, and
especially so around Chinese New Year. 心想事成 (xin xiang shi cheng), 'may
your wishes come true', and 福气满满 (fu qi man man), 'prosperity in
abundance', will be well received.
Fortune-related greetings in business settings include:
- 和气生财 (he qi sheng cai), 'wealth arising from harmony',
- 步步高升 (bu bu gao sheng), or 'rising higher with each step taken',
- 财源广进 (cai yuan
guang jin), or 'may riches enter in huge volumes', or 财源滚滚 (cai yuan gun gun), 'may riches gush in',
- 东成西就 (dong cheng xi jiu), or 'achievements everywhere, literally from east to west',
- 工作顺利 (gong zuo shun li), 'may your work go smoothly',
- 鸿运当头 (hong yun dang tou), 'may fortune find you',
- 货如轮转 (huo ru lun zhuan), 'may your products sell like hotcakes, as quickly as wheels turn',
- 马到成功 (ma dao
cheng gong), 'instant success' - particularly popular in the year of the
horse as the word for horse (马) features in this saying,
- 年年有余 (nian nian you yu), 'surpluses every year',
- 平步青云 (ping bu qing yun), 'an easy path to a meteoric rise',
- 升官发财 (sheng guan fa cai) 'get a promotion and a raise',
- 生意兴隆 (sheng yi xing long), or 'may the business thrive significantly',
- 事业有成 (shi ye you cheng) 'success in business' , 事业发达 (shi ye fa da) 'a thriving business',
- 新年进步 (xin nian jin bu), which means 'making progress in the new year',
- 一本万利 (yi ben wan li), 'reap much more than you invest'.
Greetings
can also involve the animal for the year, such as filling in the blank
accordingly for ___年大吉 (___ nian da ji), 'great fortune in the year of
the ___', and ___年行大運/___年行大运, (___ nian xing da yun), 'great
luck in the year of the ___ as it progresses', depending on which
animal whose year it
is. You may also see ___ 来运转 (___ lai yun zhuan, or 'a change of
fortunes when the animal arrives'). Referring to the animal of the year
as 福___ (fu ___), or 'the fortune-bringing ___' is also common. It
is the year of the dragon (龙, long)
this year, the year of the snake (蛇, she) after, and the year of the horse (马, ma) thereafter.
 |
| Coke's new year packaging features 舞龙阳春, the dancing dragon welcomes spring. |
Dragons are considered particularly lucky, and many families may plan to have children this year.
Some lucky sayings in the year of the dragon include:
- 龙飞凤舞 (long fei feng wu), 'the dragon flies and the phoenix dances'. The dragon and phoenix are often portrayed as a pair at weddings to symbolise harmony and happiness, with the dragon representing the male and the phoenix representing the female.
- 龙凤呈祥 (long feng cheng xiang), 'the dragon and the phoenix bring luck'.
- 龙华春暖 (long hua chun nuan), 'the dragon brings splendour in a warm spring', a description of a good start.
- 龙马精神 (long ma jing shen), 'spirit of the dragon-horse', a description of vigour.
- 龙腾虎跃 (long teng hu yue), 'to soar like a dragon and leap like a tiger', a description of vigour.
- 龙腾盛世 (long teng sheng shi), 'the soaring dragon in a growth era'.
- 龙头马尾 (long tou ma wei), 'a dragon head and a horse tail', symbolising a good start and end.
- 舞龙阳春 (wu long yang chun), 'a dancing dragon dance illuminates spring', a welcome to the spring festival and a good start.
Puns are common in Chinese when many words sound the same, and brands may pun on positive classical Chinese sayings in their festive marketing** as a result. As there are many dragon-related auspicious sayings, there may be fewer puns:
- 生意兴龙 (sheng yi xing long), 'a business like a happy dragon', is a play on 生意兴隆, also sheng yi xing long, a 'prosperous business'.
 | ||||
| Shein's catalogue for 2024 includes a dragon year blind box with red packets designed like the divining strips at temples. Each strip carries festive wishes. From left: 生意兴龙 (sheng yi xing long), 龙腾虎跃 (long teng hu yue), and 龙马精神 (long ma jing shen). |
 |
| The pronounciation of 'dragon' in Mandarin, 'long', was used to festive effect by Air Asia in an ad mentioning longevity with the 'long' in 'longevity' replaced by the Chinese character for dragon. |
 |
| SPC introduced a dragon mascot called 小龙宝, 'little precious dragon' or xiaolongbao, a play on the popular dish 小龙包 (xiaolongbao). |
No traditional Chinese New Year banquet in Malaysia and Singapore
is complete without a lohei (撈起) ceremony before the meal proper.
Loheis are available weeks before Chinese New Year, and up to the
15th day of the new year.
 |
| A
lohei platter. Each ingredient has an auspicious meaning, including the
raw salmon slices (abundance) at the side,
and the sauces in bowls (plum sauce in the foreground for a sweet
future, and oil next to it to ensure everything goes smoothly). |
A platter of yusheng (鱼生), a raw fish*** salad, is first brought to the
table after which toppings are ceremoniously added individually,
accompanied by auspicious wishes that accompany specific ingredients. The sweet sauce is typically added while saying 甜甜蜜蜜
(tiantian mimi, a wish that life will be sweet) and the fish or seafood
component arranged on the salad while saying 年年有余 because 余 (yu, 'surplus'), sounds like 鱼 (yu, 'fish').
Once complete, diners toss (lo) the salad with chopsticks while calling
out their wishes for the coming year - just use the ones mentioned above. The higher the salad is raised
(hei), the
better the luck for the coming year.
If
you can't remember too many greetings, don't worry - a simple 'happy
new year' is fine. The whole idea is to start off the year right, and
it's traditional to hope for fortune, prosperity and success. Just stay
away from anything negative. 万事如意 (wan shi ru yi), 'may all things be as
you wish'!
Explore:
Fengshui masters typically release forecasts for a new year before Chinese New Year
as well. Dato' Joey Yap of The Joey Yap Group and founder of the
Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics has released forecasts for
different animal signs in 2024, as well as an overview video, where Yap explains how tenacious challengers, chance champions, fortune masters and skillful strivers will succeed in the new year.
Hashtags: #CNY, #ChineseNewYear, #JoeyYap, #12Animals,
#YearOfTheDragon, #LunarNewYear, #SpringFestival
*The
sequence, according to legend, came down to which 12 animals arrived
first in a race to be included in the zodiac. The animals crossed the
finishing line in the sequence of rat, ox or cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon,
snake, horse, goat or sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. What
everyone also seems to agree on is that the rat took advantage of the
ox. It was actually in second place, but jumped off the ox's back to get
to the finish line first. The rabbit is also known as the jade rabbit
due to a second legend, in which it offered itself as food to a hungry
man. The man turned out to be the Jade Emperor in disguise, and as a
reward the rabbit became immortal and was sent to the moon to live
forever.
**2019
featured very few puns on pigs in
Singapore, and 2020 was the same as the rat is often depicted negatively
in classical Chinese phrases. 2021 continued with this trend with
just one phrase, 扭转乾坤 (niu zhuan qian kun) or 'a complete change' used,
with the word 扭 replaced with the homonym 牛. The year of the tiger (2022) was
the same, with words that sounded like 虎 being replaced. One brand, UFC,
changed 五福临门 (wufu linmen), 'may the five fortunes come to your door',
to 虎福临门 (hufu linmen) - 'may the fortune of the tiger come to your
door', for instance.
2023, the year of the rabbit, featured many homonym replacements. 钱兔似锦 (qian tu si jin), 'the money rabbit has a future as bright as brocade', is a play on 前程似锦 (qian cheng si jin), 'the future is as bright as brocade'. 兔飞猛进 (tu fei meng jin) sounds exactly like 突飞猛进, 'to progress and grow in leaps and bounds', but would mean 'the rabbit has flown in with great fanfare'. Similarly, 扬眉兔气 (yang mei tu qi) or 'to raise the eyebrows in a rabbit-related atmosphere', makes little sense without the context that the greeting sounds exactly like 扬眉吐气 (yang mei tu qi), 'to feel pride and happiness after completing a difficult task'. 兔显神通 (tu xian shen tong), 'to be superpowered with the rabbit', requires the context that 大显神通 (da xian shen tong) means 'to be superpowered'. 兔然暴富 (tu ran bao fu), 'get rich with the rabbit', is a play on 突然暴富 (tu ran bao fu), 'to suddenly get rich'. The original saying is 一夜暴富 (yi ye bao fu), or 'to get rich overnight'. Last but not least, 大展宏图, sometimes 大展鸿图 (da zhan hong tu) and also reversed as 宏图大展, sometimes 鸿图大展 (hong tu da zhan), meaning 'to unveil or embark on grand plans', can be revised to 大展宏兔 (da zhan hong tu), 'the grand rabbit has been unveiled', or 'to embark on the great year of the rabbit'.
For 2018, the year of the dog, the word 旺 (wang), which has connotations of abundance and prosperity, was
common in
festive decor as it sounds similar to the sound a dog makes, 汪 (wang).
In 2017, the year of the chicken (鸡, ji), drinks manufacturer Pokka
wished
everyone 吉祥如意 (ji xiang ru yi) - all the happiness and prosperity that
you hope for, but replacing 吉 with 鸡, and 祥 with 翔 (xiang), which means
to 'soar' in keeping with the avian
theme.
2015 was the year of the goat (or sheep), and there are a few festive
greetings that take advantage of how the word for goat, 羊 (yang), is a
homonym found in various Chinese idioms. 阳光灿烂 (yang guang can lan) is a
wish for bright sunlight or a bright future; 喜气洋洋, converted to 喜气羊羊
(xi qi yang yang) for the year, refers to happiness everywhere; while
羊羊得意, really 洋洋得意 (yang yang de yi), is a wish that the recipient will
get whatever he or she wants, in the best way possible.
马到成功 is especially apt in the year of the horse in 2014, as the
character for horse, 马, begins the greeting, but it can be used at any
other time as well.
***Various
chefs have experimented with different takes on the salad. The raw fish
component has been replaced (or complemented) by Wagyu beef slices, smoked salmon, sliced abalone or lobster
for example, while the salad may be replaced by fruit. Fancier toppings
such as gold flakes or caviar have also appeared in recent years.
