Weeks before the New Year, craftsmen, gardeners, and merchants organize open-air markets to sell all kinds of things needed to adorn the house. Flowers in season are welcome; narcissus, peach blossom, kumquat, Chinese peony. Other new year specialties are fruits, sweets, 'lai see' or red packets, firecrackers (in the days before they were banned), four-character mottoes hand-written on red paper, and handicraft.  
      The four-character mottoes express wishes. Some of the favorite ones are: As full of vigor as dragon and horse; Safe and peaceful wherever you go; Everything to your wish; Small capital, great profits;  Riches and honor blossom like flowers.  
      On New Year's Eve, after a get-together family dinner, many people will go to the market for last-minute shopping or a stroll to look at new and interesting goods. On New Year Day, the house, spick and span, is ready to receive visitors. People are dressed in their newest best. They make rounds of visits to pay respect to elder relatives and friends. When they meet, they greet each other with 'Kung Hei Fat Choy!' which means 'Best wishes and may you get rich!'. Married people give unmarried young ones 'lai see' or 'lucky money'. They also exchange presents. Every visitor to a house is greeted with a round tray of sweets, sugared fruits, fried melon-seeds dyed in red, lotus seeds, and other goodies.  
      Many families have the custom of eating only vegetarian meals on the first day. Then on the second day, they have a big family dinner to usher in the new year. The dinner consists of many courses of meats and delicacies, special treats prepared for the festival. The third day is a day for staying at home, for it is believed that visiting someone then will result in quarrels. 
      The New Year festival reaches a climax on the fifteenth of the lunar January, which is the Lantern Festival. On that day, beautifully designed lanterns are hung up in the market-place. People put on plays, lion-dances, and parades. There are word puzzles tagged on lanterns for people to guess.  Everyone has a good time. This festival has been compared to Valentine's Day.   People all over the world have similar wishes: to be close to Nature and thank her for her bounties, to feel thankful for being healthy and well, to respect seniors and ancestors, to share abundance with others, and to hope for a better life. The Lunar New Year embodies all of these.

      Language Notes語文註解：
      narcissus: 水仙
      peach blossom: 桃花
      kumquat: 金桔
      Chinese peony: 芍藥
      lai see: 利是（紅包）
      four-character mottoes: 揮春
      As full of vigour as dragon and horse: 龍馬精神
      Safe and peaceful wherever you go: 出入平安
      Everything to your wish: 從心所欲
      Small capital, great profits: 一本萬利
      Riches and honour blossom like flowers: 花開富貴
      Kung Hei Fat Choy: 恭喜發財
      melon-seeds dyed in red: 紅瓜子
      lotus seeds: 蓮子
      goodies: nice things, especially for eating (informal word)
      vegetarian: consisting of only vegetables
      to usher in the new year: 開年; "usher" means bring in delicacies: finely made food 
      the Lantern Festival: 上元節；元宵節
      lion-dance: 舞獅
      parades: 遊行
      word puzzles: 字謎；燈謎
      bounties: generosity
      abundance: plenty
      embodies: contains