Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Year of the Pig



From TIME:

Tuesday marks the start of the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, China’s biggest holiday.

During this time, the world’s largest human migration will take place as hundreds of millions of people make their way to celebrate with family in China. The holiday is also celebrated by millions of people of Chinese decent all over the world, including in the U.S.

...Each year on the Chinese calendar is assigned an animal of the zodiac, which is repeated every 12 years. Last year was the Year of the Dog and 2019 is the Year of the Pig. The years 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, and 2007 were also assigned Year of the Pig. Those born in these years are said to be realistic, a bit materialistic, hard-working and let themselves enjoy life. The numbers 2, 5, and 8 are considered lucky, as well as the colors yellow, gray and brown.

Some famous pigs include: Alfred Hitchcock, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hillary Clinton, Tupac Shakur, Amy Winehouse, Mila Kunis and Donald Glover.
TIME says Hillary Clinton is a "famous pig."

Donald Trump is not a pig.

Interesting.

How can I wish someone a Happy Chinese New Year?

“Gong hei fat choy” is the most common Chinese New Year greeting in Cantonese, which is spoken in parts of southern China and Hong Kong. It directly translates to “wishing you great happiness and prosperity.” In Mandarin, the same greeting is “gong xi fa cai” (pronounced gong she fa tsai).

There are a few other ways to wish someone a Happy Chinese New Year.

In Mandarin, “Happy Chinese New Year” is “xin nian kuai le” (pronounced shin nee-an kwai le), which is a formal greeting typically used for strangers and means “New Year happiness.” A shortened version is “xin nian hao” (pronounced shin nee-an how) is more often used for friends and family. “Guo nian hao” (pronounced gor nee-an how) is also used as a New Year greeting and means “pass the New Year well.”
Celebrate the pig!

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