Chinese New Year sayings

It is the year of the Rabbit soon! 

For those of you who are going to celebrate Chinese New Year on February 3th, we have a treat for you! In case you forgot or completely do not know any of the Chinese New Year greetings in Mandarin, we have found some phrases for you to practice to show your friends and family how cultured and prepared you are for the wonderful Chinese New Year festivities! Join us in learning a little bit of Chinese. 

Happy New Year - xīn nián kuài lè - 新年快樂

Happy New Year (another saying) - gōng hè xīn xǐ - 恭賀新禧

Congratulations and Prosper - gōng xǐ fā cái - 恭喜發財

Wishing you prosperity every year - nián nián yǒu yú - 年年有餘

(Said if something breaks to ward off bad luck) - suì suì ping ān - 歲歲平安

Replace the old with the new - chú jiù bù xīn - 除舊佈新

Good luck for the year - nián xíng dà yùn - 年行大運

What is your Chinese Zodiac sign?

In the west, we have horoscopes. In the east, they have Chinese zodiac signs. The idea of these zodiac signs are similar to horoscopes, except horoscopes are monthly in a year whereas Chinese zodiac signs each takes up an entire year. Therefore a whole cycle of these zodiac signs would be 12 years as horoscopes cycle in 12 months. Have you ever wondered which Zodiac sign you are? We have provided you a chart right below! Find the year you were born and match it to the "animal" that corresponds it. Share this with your friends and family members and see which animal they are and if you are compatible with each other with the graph right under it. Have fun!

Rat	1924	1936	1948	1960	1972	1984	1996	2008
Ox	1925	1937	1949	1961	1973	1985	1997	2009
Tiger	1926	1938	1950	1962	1974	1986	1998	2010
Rabbit	1927	1939	1951	1963	1975	1987	1999	2011
Dragon	1928	1940	1952	1964	1976	1988	2000	2012
Snake	1929	1941	1953	1965	1977	1989	2001	2013
Horse	1930	1942	1954	1966	1978	1990	2002	2014
Sheep	1931	1943	1955	1967	1979	1991	2003	2015
Monkey	1932	1944	1956	1968	1980	1992	2004	2016
Rooster	1933	1945	1957	1969	1981	1993	2005	2017
Dog	1934	1946	1958	1970	1982	1994	2006	2018
Pig	1935	1947	1959	1971	1983	1995	2007	2019

The 3 animals which are evenly spaced from one another in the zodiac circle are generally considered to be good matches. Rat, Dragon and Monkey ; Ox, Snake and Rooster ; Tiger and Horse and Dog ; Rabbit, Sheep and Pig are suitable for one another. Matching symbols on the Zodiac chart indicate compatible signs. 

The signs that are opposite each other in the Zodiac Circle chart are poor matches. Generally a Rat and Horse; Ox and Goat; Tiger and Monkey; Rabbit and Rooster; Dragon and Dog; Snake and Pig will not get along with each other. These signs make poor partners in love and in business. Family members who have opposite signs may experience friction and disharmony in the home.

 

Each person is a combination of the sign of the year they are born in as well as influences of the time of day and the larger cycles of the zodiac. You may find that even though a person was born in a year that would seem to make you a poor match, the other influences that you share balance the ill effects of incompatible signs and make for a very good relationship — or cause problems in even the most compatible signs! 

This year is the year of the Rabbit. Is this your sign? 

via Chiff.com

H A P P Y 2 0 1 1 !!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I hope everyone had a blast last night during New Year's Eve and did not drive home intoxicated! I had a lot of fun myself and am so blessed to be around all my great friends and my family. Goodbye 2010, it has taken us on a lot of journey, through ups and downs. We welcome 2011, a new year that will give us new hope and renewed resolutions that we can hopefully stick by! May this year be as great as it can be for all of you. I wish you all the best!

Classy New Year's Eve party ideas

Christmas has passed...now time to prepare ourselves for a grand new year's celebration! I have found some cute ways to celebrate this year's new year and party into 2011 with style. Some of these ideas are also great because you could recycle your Christmas decorations to make these!

Make Some Noise- Rattle in the New Year by dropping a few pink peppercorns, popcorn kernels or jelly beans into clear plastic ornaments.

Use those lights- For a festive New Year's night, hang strings of Christmas lights from the ceiling about a foot apart along a blank wall, using extension cords to plug each into an outlet. Hang semi-sheer fabric in front (not touching the lights) to create a light wall.

Blue Eyed- We never need an excuse to eat candy, which is probably why we loved those potted lollipops from Dylan Lauren (of Dylan’s Candy Bar). For a wintry version, just fill a small pot or planter with white gumdrops (or yogurt-covered candies) and “plant” some rock candy sticks. Your New Year's guests will love snacking on the candy all night.

via Rachel Ray mag