Lunar New Year Culture of Hong Kongers

Joyce Chiang, Communications Manager of Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers

Lunar New Year (LNY) may not sound new to many people in Britain, where a diverse range of people from different cultures have been celebrating this festival each year. But the way in which this important festival is marked differs according to where people originate from. This blog explores how Hong Kongers celebrate LNY here, ahead of the first day of the LNY period on 22 January this year.

Even there are no “Flower Markets'“ in the UK, some welcoming groups are organising LNY fair. (Photo credit: Lunar New Year Fair London)

“Flower Markets” and preparation

Just as Brits prepare for Christmas, the pre-LNY period is usually for shopping and preparing for the LNY and stocking up on celebration treats and decorations.  7-8 days from the New Year, in Hong Kong here would typically be ‘Flower Markets’ in each district, with Lunar New Year stalls selling flowers and goods related to the new year. You may notice there are quite a number of LNY markets and friendship festivals organised by Hongkonger groups ahead of LNY, as browsing the ‘Flower Market’ is a must-do for Hongkongers.

“Bai-nin” (拜年), Fai-chun (揮春) and ‘Lai-see’ (利是)

Wear some red (or yellow) elements when you go to any LNY events! (Photo: yahoo!)

You may wonder what Hong Kongers usually do for LNY.  You may have seen some Lion Dancing in ChinaTown before, but it is not something that ordinary Hong Kong families would do, unless they are living in rural areas or running a business.   For most Hong Kongers, what we usually do is to have extended family gatherings, or pay visits to extended family members, usually on the first two days of LNY.  We call these visits during LNY period “Bai-nin” (拜年).  

When we go to Bai-nin, the first thing we need to care about is the clothing.  Even for those who like darker colours on a normal day would wear brighter colours when going Bai-nin, especially red or yellow, or purple or pink – or at least some red or yellow elements.  It’s a bit  like Brits wearing their red and green Christmas jumper in the lead-up to 25 December!

Lunar New Year Fai Chuns

The second thing we care about at Bai-nin is what to say. When meeting anyone during the first 15 days of LNY, we would say some LNY greetings, in four Cantonese words..  While we might sometimes say Happy New Year, or  “Sun Nin Fai Lok” (新年快樂), we would usually say something more specific. The most common one is  “Kung Hei Fat Choi” (恭喜發財) (wishing you a prosperous year). The greeting also varies depending on who you are speaking to, so when speaking to elders you might wish them good health, “Lung Ma Jing Sun” (龍馬精神) and “Sun Chong Lik Kin” (身壯力健). For those still in school you may wish them do well in their studies “Hok Yip Chun Po” (學業進步). And as this year is the year of the Rabbit, we would usually include the word sthat ounds the same as rabbit in Cantonese, like “To Hei Yeung Mei” (吐氣揚眉, meaning to feel proud and happy) – the sound “To” is the same as rabbit (兔) in Cantonese! 

These four-word greetings usually appear on “Fai-chun” (揮春) as well - these are red banners with these greetings written in Chinese Caligraphyt.  Also a single character “Fuk” (福) (careful with your spelling please), meaning blessings and luck.  Sometimes we may put the Fuk character upside down, meaning the blessings and luck is on  its way!

Lai-see envelops of Hong Kongers are not limited to traditional designs (photo credit: Andthen.hk)

After “Bai-nin”, it’s the happiest time for the kids or adults who are not married - getting “Lai-see” (利是) - red packets with money put inside! This is a symbol of passing luck to others. In Hong Kong, married people are expected to give out ‘lai see’ to the non-married people they know on the first fifteen days of LNY.  In the workplace, bosses usually give out ‘Hoi Kung Lai See’ (red packets with money which mark the first day of work in the year) to their employees, no matter if they are married or not. But no matter when did you get these Lai-sees, don’t open them in front of the one who gave you, which is considered impolite.

‘Looking like the Fourth day of LNY’ (年初四咁樣, “Nin Chor Sae Gum Yeung”)

Though there will not be any bank holiday for LNY in the UK, I would still like to introduce this very Hong Kong term to you all, as you would certainly sympathise with the feeling after the Christmas break.  It comes from a popular Hong Kong film in the 90s and has been widely used by Hong Kongers since then – and means that after the three bank holidays on the first three days of LNY, people “finished their holiday, spent too much money and must get back to work”. Usually people would have a slightly downcast face on that day.  Can’t imagine it? Think about the first day you go back to work after the Christmas break!

Seventh day of LNY

Happy birthday to all!  The Seventh day of LNY is seen as ‘human day’, it is when the human was created when the world emerges, according to traditional mythology.- Does the timing sound familiar? Anyway, you may try to say happy birthday (San Yat Fai Lok, 生日快樂) to your Hong Kong friends on this day - it’s 28th of January this year..

Food For Lunar New Year

Most of the food that Hong Kongers usually have for LNY has a name that sounds similar to some good wishes, like prosperity and happiness.  Let’s take a look at some of them:

Radish/turnip cake on sale at the pre-LNY period in Hong Kong (Photo credit: 生隆餅家)

“Cakes”  (糕)

Hong Kong people tend to have cakes for LNY, as the sound of cakes, “Go” in Cantonese, sounds the same as high, meaning getting some good developments in business or in your career.  Normally, we would have Cantonese-style cake like radish/turnip cake (Law Bak Go, 蘿葡糕) and mochi cake (Nin Go, 年糕). But don’t worry if you can’t get one in the UK, as Western-style cakes also carry the ‘Go’ sound (Dan Go, 蛋糕) in Cantonese!

Sesame Ball for LNY (Photo credit: 土炮)

Sesame Ball (煎堆)

It’s common for Hong Kongers to have deep fried small treats for LNY, as the golden colour signifies gold and prosperity.  Sesame Balls, “Gin Dui” (煎堆) are the most significant: their round shape has an additional rolling meaning of “gold and prosperity rolling into your home”. 

Fish (魚)

When Hong Kong families have their new year meals, fish must be one of the dishes, as the word for fish in Cantonese, “Yu”, sounds the same as the word for “abundant”, meaning it will be a very prosperous year ahead!

Prawn/shrimp (蝦)

Prawn or shrimp is also an essential element in new year meals, because the words for both sound like “Ha”. So what does a table full of shrimps sound like? Hahahahahahahahahaha! Happiness and laughter are important for everyone!

Lettuce with shiitake mushrooms (Photo credit: passiontimes.hk )

Lettuce (生菜)

Lettuce is another important element in the LNY meal, especially for businesses, as the word for lettuce in Cantonese, “San Choi”, sounds similar to the phrase “more wealth”.  And it doesn’t come in the form of a boring salad: lettuce is usually cooked with other ingredients, like pork or shiitake mushrooms, to make it more tasty.

Celebrating lunar new year is really important to Hong Kongers. It’s typically a time to share with friends and family – and for some new arrivals in the UK this may be their first LNY away from those closest to them. So if your new Hong Konger neighbours invite you round to celebrate the new year with them, do put on your brightest red jumper and join them for some cakes and other treats – and start practising how to wish them “Kung Hei Fat Choi”, a happy and prosperous new year.