2025 - Year of the Wood Snake

January 29 marks the beginning of the new Lunar year, ruled by a Wood or Green Snake. Wood is associated with green, hence the variation in snake's element colour.

By popular belief, people born in the year of the Snake, are known to be intelligent, wise, discreet (you can trust them with your most cherished secrets). They make loyal friends with a great fashion sense and a love for socializing. While good at keeping secrets, Snakes can be very secretive themselves. They can also be cunning and ruthless. Snakes bond well with people born in the years of the Ox, Rooster, and Monkey. They can also get along with Rats, Dragons, Horse, Sheep, and a Dog. The most conflicts and disagreements arise with Tigers and Pigs.

Lunar New Year celebrations start on January 28, New Year's Eve, and it's a lot of fun. Even though traditions and symbolism have given way to the realities of modern life, it is still about family reunion and food. China is probably the most well-known for its grande celebrations, with fireworks and street shows. Traditionally, it's a 16-day long festival, each day filled with different functions and foods.

In China, with its rich cuisine, the list of auspicious foods is very long and may vary depending on the region. But a few dishes are a must-have no matter where you live.

Dumplings made together by the entire family and eaten through the night, as a late dinner, are a symbol of wealth and financial well-being. Traditionally shaped dumplings resemble gold and silver ingots, used in ancient China as money. Eating ingot-shaped dumplings is a well-wishing to oneself for the money to come and stay for the entire year. The more dumplings you eat, the more “golf ingots” you will earn.

Other auspicious foods include fish, chicken, pork, rice balls, noodles, spring rolls. Each dish has a legend and rich symbolism associated with it. Northern Chinese regions love nuts and dried fruits served in a sectioned plate. The number of lucky foods also varies, from 8 to 12 to 32. As a general rule, there should be something for each month, with a wish to have food and luck in your life for each month of the year. So, 12 will do.

Oddly, clothes for the celebrations are not overly important. They should simply be new and clean, there is no requirement to look like a serpent and wear snake-skin accessories. Traditionally, red is present in the form of wall and table decorations, New Year's cards, red envelopes with money gifts, and the like.

Happy New Year of the Snake!