Tết is celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar calendar (usually around late January or early February) for about 3 days. In 2021, it falls on February 12, before Valentine’s day and after the Super Bowl. Tết is the time of year for family reunions and wishing everyone good luck and fortune in the upcoming year. Red and gold are considered lucky colors, so you’ll see these colors decorated and worn everywhere. It’s my favorite time of year. There’s so much hope for the new year during this time.
2021 is the year of the Metal/Golden Ox. I was born on the Year of the Ox three cycles ago and my mother five cycles ago. My child will be the 3rd generation of Ox in my family. Celebrations will look a bit different this year, but I’m still grateful to celebrate in a small gathering with just my parents. Most importantly, there will still be lots of food and well wishes for the new year. This pregnant mama is so hungry all the time these days!
It’s my first Lunar New Year as a married woman, so it is officially time for me to give out “lucky money, also known as “red envelopes” (Southern Vietnamese: lì xì, Mandarin: 紅包,hóngbāo). I used to receive lucky money as an unmarried woman, but times have changed. I ordered my first packet of red envelopes. Per my mother’s suggestion, I went with a generic pack. There were a ton of cute Year of the Ox versions out for this year, but I ended up with this pack.
264 Pack Chinese Red Envelopes
The majority of the envelopes are for celebrating new year, but a few can be used for other occasions, such as graduation, starting a new business, marriage, or birthdays. I ended up doing some translation work on this pack for my husband, so he knows which ones are for what occasion, just in case. Here are the majority of the sayings on this pack:
| Mandarin | Phonetics | Translation | Occasion |
| 恭喜发财 | gōng xǐ fā cái | Wish you wealth and prosperity | New Year |
| 大吉大利 | dà jí dà lì | Wishing you great luck and great profit | New Year, new business |
| 一帆風顺 | yī fān fēng shùn | May the winds blow smoothly | New Year, new business, new travels |
| 大展鴻圖 | dà zhǎn hóng tú | Wishing you success at work | new business |
| 心想事成 | xīn xiǎng shì chéng | May all your wishes come true | New Year |
| 萬事胜意 | wàn shì shèng yì | May everything be smooth | New Year |
| 出入平安 | chū rù píng ān | May you have safety where ever you enter and exit | New Year |
| 富貴雙全 | fù gùi shuāng quán | May you have abundance in blessings | New Year, birthday, marriage |
| 丁財兩旺 | dīng cái liǎng wàng | May you have both prosperity and wealth | Marriage |
| 身體健康 | shēn tǐ jiàn kāng | Wishing you great health | New Year, birthday |
| 萬事如意 | wàn shì rú yì | May everything go well | New Year |
| 學業進步 | xué yè jìn bù | May your studies improve | Graduation |
As you can see, a lot of the sayings are related to well wishes to the new year. If you’re celebrating Lunar New Year with me, I wish you all great fortune and prosperity in the year of the Ox!
Until next time,
Diana L.
diana luong 