Happy Chinese New Year! 

2018 is the Year of the Dog!

Honest and loyal, those born in the year of the dogs are the truest friends and most reliable partner.  Dogs include those born in: 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018

Chinese New Year is always a fun holiday and filled with lots of celebrations, traditions and the food of course!

Here is a quick 101 on all you need to know about Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year Greetings

• 新年快乐 - Happy New Year
• 恭贺新禧 - Happiness & Prosperity
• 身体健康 - Enjoy good health

Traditions

• Red Envelopes
  Red envelopes with "lucky money" are given to younger generations
• End of Year Dinner
  While New Years Day is when the holiday technically begins, having a bountiful dinner the night before is just as important.  You should have leftovers to bring into the new year as a sign that you will not go hungry into the new year.
• Tangerines & Oranges
  Tangerines and oranges are displayed everywhere and given to friends and family.  Tangerines represent wealth and oranges are a popular symbol of good luck
• Kick off the year with something SWEET
  You should have a piece of candy or something sweet to begin the new year, it will show you will have a sweet year
• Hair Cut
  You should get your hair cute before the new year, but should absolutely NOT get your hair cut on the day of or during the 2 weeks following New Year Day
• Showers
  Do not shower Chinese New Year Day, it is believed that you will wash away your luck. If you are really courageous, it is suggested you do not shower for 8 days (I will not be taking part in that part)

Foods

There are a lot of traditional foods, here are some of the more traditional and my favorites

• Fa Gao
  Cakes are supposed to bring you good fortune (it also looks like a fortune cookie)
• Sesame Ball Cookies
  Cookies are supposed to bring you laughter into the new year and are symbols of family reunions
• Nian Gao
  Cake will bring sweetness into your life, asthe cake is very sweet

I could go on and on, but these are just a few of the traditions of Chinese New Year.  

Let me know some of your traditions for the new year in the comments!