Gung Hay Fat Choy

“Congratulations on prospering in money”

That’s how the traditional Chinese New Year’s greeting—gung hay fat choy—literally translates. A more nuanced translation might be, “Best wishes and congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year.”

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, which marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. During the 15-day celebration, called the “Lantern Festival”:

• Scrolls are displayed on walls and doorways with messages of good health and luck, long life, prosperity and happiness.
• Firecrackers crackle in the streets to ward off wicked spirits.
• Red packets, known as lai see in Cantonese and containing money, in even denominations, are passed out to unmarried young people.
• Ancestors are honored and gods are thanked for their blessings.
• Homes are filled with flowers and fruit, symbolizing good luck and joy.
• Blossoms, symbolizing longevity and courage, are arranged.

China by the Numbers
The following eight metrics on China and the Chinese people were compiled in eight minutes using Yahoo! Search.

8—The number associated with sudden fortune and prosperity
16.5—Average hours Chinese Internet users spent online as of July 2006
778,400—The number of Chinese websites as of July 2006 (up from 110,000 in 2005)
60 million—Number of people of Chinese origin or descent not living in China
123 million—Number of Chinese Internet users as of July 2006
1.1 billion—Number of dollars spent online in 2005 by Chinese residents
1.3 billion—Number of people in China, 2006
10 trillion—Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity) of China in dollars

Needless to say, we at Yahoo! have to admit to a marked affinity with prosperity and big, lucky numbers—for our advertisers, our publishers, our users and, yes, ourselves. And we also like the idea of a 15-day party. We’d like to wish everyone in 4704, the Year of the Boar, a big gung hay fat choy!

—Michael Mattis, Blog Editor