We'd like to wish everyone a very happy Chinese New Year, a 15 day celebration which starts today and ends with the Lantern Festival on Friday March 2.
At this time of the year, people wish each other happiness, good fortune, and prosperity. If you'd like to share a traditional greeting of 'happiness and prosperity', you can say "gong-sshee faa-tseye" to your friends and family.
Red, gold and yellow are colours that symbolise wealth and prosperity, and you will see plenty of decorations in these colours at this time of the year. In the picture above, Keyi (our new Mandarin Learning Assistant) shows off her beautiful red lanterns that she has bought to school to help us celebrate.
There are plenty of activities around Wellington to celebrate The Year of the Dog. On Saturday 17 February, festivities take place in Wellington City, culminating in fireworks at 9.30pm - see here for more details. The Lantern Festival street markets will also be running on the evenings of Friday 16 and Saturday 17 February. There's plenty for the whole family to see and do!
