The snake replaces the dragon as the 6th animal* in a 12-year
cycle in the Chinese zodiac in 2025. Chinese New Year begins 29 January in 2025, and auspicious language will be the norm from the eve of the 1st till the
15th day of the lunar new year.
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| A wish for lots of business opportunities: 生意兴隆. |
Evergreen greetings
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.
Evergreen business greetings
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'.
Animal-related greetings
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.
It
is the year of the snake in 2025, the year of the horse (马, ma), after that, and then the year of the goat (羊, yang), thereafter. You may also see ___ 来运转 (___ lai yun zhuan), or 'a change of
fortunes when the animal arrives'. This is particularly meaningful for the year of the snake as the original idiom is 時來運轉 (shi lai yun zhuan), 'the fortune changes with the era', and the word for snake (蛇, she) sounds quite similar to the word for era or time (時, shi).
Referring to the animal of the year
as 福___ (fu ___), or 'the fortune-bringing ___' as well as 金___ (jin____), or the 'golden ____' is common as well.
Pun-related greetings for the year of the snake
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. A search online*** has turned up a number of new year sayings for the snake, many where the word for snake (蛇, she) replaces a word that sounds similar to it.
- 金蛇衔财 (jin she xian cai), 'the gold snake attracts wealth'.
- 有蛇有得 (you she you de) to get something if the snake is present, a pun derived from 有捨有得 (also you she you de), to get something in return if you give something up first.
- 蛇轉乾坤 (she zhuan qian kun), 'the snake turns over', or taken to mean that bad luck becomes good. This was also seen in the year of the ox, and is related in sentiment to 蛇來運轉.
- 喜蛇临门 (xi she lin men), 'the happy snake comes to your door', derived from 喜事临门 (xi shi lin men), 'happy occasions come to your door'.
- 蛇拿九穩 (she na jiu wen), 'the snake takes nine reliably', a reference to opportunities. This is derived from 十拿九穩 (shi na jiu wen), 'of 10 taken, nine are stable'. 一蛇二鸟 (yi she er niao), 'one snake, two birds' is of similar meaning, and is derived from 一石二鸟 (yi shi er niao), 'one stone takes down two birds'.
- 蛇蛇如意 (she she ru yi), 'your wishes come true with snakes', which comes from 事事如意 (shi shi ru yi), 'everything is as you wish'.
- 丰衣足蛇 (feng yi zhu she), 'an abundance of clothing and snakes', a pun based on 丰衣足食 (feng yi zhu shi), 'an abundance of clothing and food'.
- 蛇灿莲花
(she can lian hua), 'the snake is as glorious as a lotus flower', inspired by 舌灿莲花 (also she can lian hua), 'a tongue as glorious as lotus flowers' sometimes written as 舌粲莲花 (again pronounced as she can lian hua), 'a tongue as charming as lotus flowers'.
- 画蛇添福 (hua she tian fu), 'draw a snake to add prosperity' an auditory play on the well-known 画蛇添足 (hua she tian zhu), 'draw a snake and add legs to it', literally to add unwanted features to an object.
- 好蛇成双 (hao she cheng shuang), literally 'a good snake will become two', derived from 好事成双 (hao shi cheng shuang), 'may good events double'.
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| The caption refers to a clever or effective snake (灵蛇, ling she) welcoming fortune and easily getting rid of dirt. 灵蛇 is a pun for 临时 (lin shi), or 'last-minute'. |
The lohei (撈起)
No traditional Chinese New Year banquet in Malaysia and Singapore is complete without a lohei 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 video forecasts for
different animal signs in 2025, for example.
Hashtags: #CNY, #ChineseNewYear, #JoeyYap, #12Animals,
#YearOfTheSnake, #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.
**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.
2015 was the year of the goat (or ram), 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.
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.
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).
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'.
2024 saw 生意兴龙 (sheng yi xing long), 'a business like a happy dragon', a play on 生意兴隆 (also sheng yi xing long), a 'prosperous business'.
***Some of the snake-related greetings were listed on https://stage.taipei101mall.com.tw/en/article/842 and https://www.harpersbazaar.com/tw/culture/lifestyle/g63222051/2025-cyn-of-snake-greeting/
****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.
