It’s the Year of the Monkey …

It is the year of the monkey … Gong Xi Fa Cai

It’s the start of the Chinese New Year. The celebrations for the new year usually continue until the Lantern Festival which is the 15th day of the New Year.

Personality characteristics of those people born in the year of the monkey include being curious and quick-witted as well as being mischievous. They are also considered to be the most intelligent of the signs, especially adept at wealth creation. But don’t make a monkey angry as they can be quick tempered.

There are some very famous people born under the monkey sign from warriors to artists and writers to actors:
Julius Caesar
Leonardo da Vinci
Lord Byron
Charles Dickens
Elizabeth Taylor
Tom Hanks
Selena Gomez
Mick Jagger
and even the current 007, Daniel Craig

Outside of Asia the biggest celebrations of the Chinese New Year will be in London but other major celebrations will be in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Click on the links below if you want to check out the various activities in these cities.

London          Birmingham          Manchester          Liverpool

Did you know that there are certain activities that you should avoid on the first day of the Chinese New Year?  These include:

• using knives – any accident that occurs is thought to be an omen of inauspicious things and the depletion of wealth.
• wearing black or white – these colours are considered to be mourning colours and wearing them on New Year’s day is felt to bring bad luck.
• visiting your parents’ home if you are female and married as this is believed to bring luck to the parents particularly in the area of money.
• sweeping – you should avoid housework (we don’t see a problem with that).  It is believed that if you sweep you will sweep your wealth away.

However, try to wear red and gold on the first day of Chinese New Year.  These are lucky colours.

If you would like a little monkey to keep you company now it is the Year of the Monkey why not check out our range by clicking here.