The Year of the Rooster - 鸡年

 恭喜发财  
Gong Xi Fai Cai

Year of the Rooster

It's almost New Year... again!

In Bangkok, we celebrate three New Year holidays; First of January, Lunar (Chinese) New Year, and Songkran (Thai New Year).

As the Year of the Monkey comes to a close, it's nearly time to enter the Year of the Rooster!

giant lantern at Siam Paragon mall

Specifically, this year is the Year of the Fire Rooster, which last happened in 1957!

According to Chinese tradition, this year should be an auspicious one financially! I certainly hope that's true!

Like the Year of the Goat (my year!) which could be translated to the Year of the Sheep, this year is also called the Year of the Chicken. In fact, I have been calling it the Year of the Chicken, but I think officially in English it should be "rooster".

Chinese shrine at school

 And as always, my school set up a Chinese shrine for the students and teachers to pay their respects. It's fairly subdued this year though, as we are still in mourning. There was no big Chinese show as in the past and even the teachers who did wear silk Chinese shirts today wore black instead of the common bright reds, pinks, and golds as in years past.

Past Rooster Years include 1957 (fire), 1969 (earth), 1981 (gold), 1993 (water), and 2005 (wood)