A Few Charms: The Chinese New Year hong bao that symbolizes good marriages and prosperity

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

The Chinese New Year hong bao that symbolizes good marriages and prosperity

My twins Taylor and Mitchell, Christmas Eve 2009

Greetings on Chinese New Year, from my family to yours. Gung Hay Fat Choy! Which means, "Wishing you a prosperous New Year."

I want to share with you the story behind this charm that I added to my bracelet on New Year's Day of 2013 in celebration of the fact that we are free of debt! Yup, you read it correctly NO MORE DEBT!!

In January of 2013 we wrote the last cheque to pay off our debts - and we had accumulated ALOT of debt! We weren't bankrupt but we were damn close!

My husband and I had worked very hard, together, over 5 years, to pay off ALL of our debts. I had purchased this charm from a friend because I knew that this "unforgettable moment" was coming up at the end of December, 2012. And I thought that this accomplishment warranted a Pandora charm - of course! Financial problems were a huge issue in my mother's marriage, and hence in my childhood and beyond. So I am very happy - no proud - to put this on my love and marriage bracelet to signify that, unlike my father, "we are financially responsible." Best part? We did it together!

This charm, called the "hong bao" is like the Pandora "money bags" charm but it has the Chinese character for "blessings and good fortune" or "abundance." The term "hong bao," meaning "red packet," refers to the Chinese tradition of adults giving children little red paper envelopes filled with money. According to the China Folklore Society, the original meaning of the envelope ritual is a New Year's blessing passed from the old to the young, and the "lucky money" inside a hong bao can ward off evil spirits and maintain children in peace and safety for a whole year. It seems appropriate to have this charm on my red "Always and Forever" bracelet because the red colour of the hong bao envelopes symbolizes good luck, and the giving of money signifies a fresh start in the New Year.

With our debts paid off we are making a "fresh start," celebrating our ability to "maintain our children in peace and safety," and welcoming good fortune and abundance.

My twins, Mitchell and Taylor hanging their stockings when they were five
(and just a little excited about Santa coming)

My twins, who are now thirteen and in grade 8, went to an urban Elementary school that is very multicultural. Rather than have a Christmas concert this school had a "Holiday Sing-a-long" and they learned songs from different countries and different religions. Imagine if you will, my two twins, who celebrate all things Christmas, running around our house in December singing not just Christmas songs like Rudolph and Frosty, but songs about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Ramadan, including the Chinese New Year song "Gung Hay Fat Choy" (lyrics below).

So when I say Gung Hay Fat Choy, I am sending New Year's blessings to all my friends and family, and also sending (as the children's song explains), "wishes of happiness... longevity... good marriages... and prosperity."

My red Always and Forever bracelet

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Gung Hay Fat Choy, Gung Hay Fat Choy
Gung Hay Fat Choy, it's Chinese New Year

Come a little closer and sit right here
I'd like to tell you all about Chinese New Year
Begins each year when the moon is new
Please listen closely I have a lot to tell you

First the whole house we need to clean
Put up decorations so they can be seen
Buy some presents and buy some new clothes
Paint the door red so that everybody knows

Gung Hay Fat Choy, Gung Hay Fat Choy
Gung Hay Fat Choy, it's Chinese New Year
On New Year's Eve we are with our family
We talk and play games or we might watch TV
Through the whole night we keep the lights on
The fireworks at midnight fill the sky with song

At morning our parents we politely greet
They give us each money in red paper wrapped neat
We visit with our neighbours, we visit with our friends
Any grudges that we had will now come to an end

With wishes of happiness (happiness)
longevity (longevity)
good marriages (good marriages)
and prosperity (prosperity)

For fifteen days everyone celebrates
We hang up lanterns in the windows on the gates
We eat yummy dumplings made of flour and rice
They are boiled in water and they taste very nice

So that is the end of our Chinese New Year
Thank you all for listening and sitting right here
Wishing you prosperity and happiness to all
Please stay and enjoy our lantern festival

Lanterns aglow, everywhere you go
Lanterns aglow, everywhere you go
Lanterns aglow, everywhere you go

This is the end of our Chinese New Year
Gung Hay Fat Choy

1 comment:

ajaykr3 February 2022 at 03:06
Wonderful Blog! Chinese spring festival starts with the lunar new year and is celebrated for 14 days. We bring Chinese spring festival celebration ideas to make your celebrations super exciting.
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My Affirmations

Gold heart T-shirt charm:

I love and accept myself, as I am.

#1 blue ribbon charm:

My health is my #1 priority.

Lucerne dangle and clips:
I deserve to be healthy and happy.

Elegant Embrace spacers:
I can't HATE myself to health; I will LOVE myself to health. I will “embrace” myself with compassion.

True Colours bracelet:

Don't be afraid to let them see your true colours.

Silver rose charm:

Just like the rose, you are perfectly alright as you are, at every stage in your development.

Wildflower Walk charm:

Walking is an exercise in heightened spiritual listening. We walk to shift our consciousness.

Gold tipped flower spacers:

Find beauty every day!

Camera charm:
Pursue my passions!

Sacred scarab charm:

Stop should-ing all over yourself.

Treasure chest charm:
Have an "attitude of gratitude."

Dove of peace dangle:

Let there be peace on earth.

Turtle charm:

Sloooooow down.

Teal studded lights:

Don't take life too seriously.

Open circle pattern:

Open your heart to the circle of giving AND receiving.

Aquamarine tulip dangle:

I am not perfect but I can be a good friend.

Mother-daughter dangles:

Remember what my mother would want me to say to myself: "I was a good daughter, and I am a great mother."

Celebration egg:

It's important to celebrate the little things as well as the big things.

Treasured heart:

I am grateful for that guy.

Treasured heart pendant:

I treasure the time with my kids.

Effervescence muranos:

I will be effervescent when I see my kids.

Let the kids "fly solo" and then congratulate them with, "You so totally rocked! Now gimme some fin!"

Sea star charm:

Be like the star of the sea: strong, flexible and resilient - a survivor!

Dolphin charm:

Face your fears and don't put off living - or chasing your dreams - until you are the perfect weight, shape, or size.

Making waves charm:

Don't be afraid of making waves.

Happy fish charm:

When life gets you down, you know what you got to do? Just keep swimming...

Ribbon flower charms:

Be still. Just float.

Ocean waves charm:

Feel the feelings and ride the wave.

Coral looking glass muranos:

I hope, in my recovery from my eating disorder, to see in the mirror (aka the "looking glass") what I saw on our wedding day, and what my husband sees, every day, when he looks at me.

Mr and Mrs Penguin

I love him and he loves me.

Everlasting love charm:

He will always love me.

Present charm:

Show - and tell our - our partners, "I love you just the way you are."

Rose leaf charm:

Marriage is like a rose garden. You need to dig up the weeds, and water and fertilize the garden, for it to grow and be healthy.

Row of hearts spacer:

Those little gestures of love help us feel closer to each other.

Lighthouse dangle:

The lighthouse can represent the persistence, diligence, and steadfast determination required to keep a marriage strong.

Love letter charm:

Remember to write each other love letters.

Hong bao charm:

We are financially responsible.

Flip-flop dangle:

The prescription for a happy marriage - at least OUR marriage - is foot rubs.

A Quotation for Inspiration

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

And the dreams that you dream of

Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow

Bluebirds fly

And the dreams that you dream of

Dreams really do come true

- Norah Jones

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

The Story of the Five Balls

Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health friends and integrity. And you're keeping all of them in the air. But one day, you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, I will bounce back. The other four balls - family, health, friends, integrity - are made of glass. If you drop one of those it will irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have balance in your life.

- James Patterson

"Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas: A Novel"

Be a clown, be a clown,

All the world loves a clown.

Act the fool, play the calf,

And you'll always have the last laugh.

- Cole Porter

When you find a partner who is stable and committed, trust him/her. Believe that he/she is there for you forever, and will not leave.

- Jeffry Young

"Reinventing Your Life: the breakthrough program to end negative behaviour... and feel great again."

How fascinating, how compelling, how gorgeous the most ordinary thing becomes when you actually see it. How different the world would be if we walked through it seeing what's there. It would be like a wonderland!

- Geneen Roth

Strange isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?

- Clarence, Angel Second Class

"It's a Wonderful Life"

My Husband, My Lighthouse

He reassures when I am navigating difficult waters

He gives me light in the midst of darkness

He reaches out to me when I am drowning

He keeps me safe when I am in a storm

And he guides me home when I am lost.

- Sheila Holmes

A Few Charms

When we are depressed, or feel guilt or shame, we are living in the past. When we feel fear or anxiety, we are living in the future. We will only find peace if we live in the present.

Offer grace for the bounty of goodness. Raise the song of harvest home, the glass of good cheer, the heart overflowing with joy. We have so much for which to be thankful. So much about which to smile, so much to share... All we have is all we need.

- Sarah Ban Breathnach

"Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy"

The past is history. The future is a mystery. But today is a gift. That's why they call it the 'present.'

- Bill Keane (and Master Oogway)

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

- Maya Angelou

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.

- Carl Rogers

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

- Thornton Wilder

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk; every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and away from illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thoughts so burdensome that one can't walk from it...

- Soren Kierkegaard