I know it's a bit late, but I just had to share this article. Did you ever wonder why there are different "Chinese New Year" greetings? For those who are curious, below is the explanation :)
Oh, and to celebrate the year of the Tiger... I'm giving away ENJOY kits to four (4) lucky readers. Contest rules will be posted on Monday, so visit us again next week :D Happy weekend everyone!
Kung Hei Fat Choi or Kiong Hee Huat Tsai?
By Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News | 02/13/2010 8:07 AM
A Chinese-Filipino finally puts the dilemma to rest
MANILA, Philippines - This Chinese New Year, you no doubt wonder which greeting is correct: Kung Hei Fat Choi or Kiong Hee Huat Tsia?
Both greetings refer to the same set of 4 Chinese characters that literally means “Congratulations and wishing you prosperity!”
Which one is the more approriate term when you are in the Philippines? (Actually, one term doesn't even mean "Happy New Year.")
“Kung Hei Fat Choi” has obviously been the more popular one, commonly said and printed on banners, advertisements and different forms of media. But this greeting is Cantonese.
Considering that majority of the Chinese Filipinos here in the Philippines speak the Hokkien dialect, I recommend that we say the greeting in Hokkien, which is pronounced and spelled as "Kiong Hee Huat Tsai."
Lost in translation
Tsinoys will appreciate to hear the greeting in the dialect they understand.
Cantonese is one of the 9 other groups of dialects in China and is most commonly spoken in Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Macau.
Hokkien is the dialect spoken in Fujian province where most of the Chinese-Filipinos come from.
If you happen to be in China and if you want to say the greeting in Mandarin, China's official language (and spoken by the most number of people in the world), pronounce the greeting as "Kong Xi Fa Tsai" (written and spelled formally as "Gong Xi Fa Cai").
I suspect that a Hong Kong or Cantonese restaurant started to popularize the Cantonese greeting here, which is weird because there is a very scant population of Tsinoys from Guangdong or Hong Kong.
Quite disappointingly, the Cantonese greeting has been mercilessly repeated and spread in print ads and gigantic banners in commercial banks, restaurants, department stores and shopping malls supposedly owned by Hokkien-speaking Tsinoys who should know the difference.
I remember a jingle from a TV commercial of a fast food chain years ago that goes: “Kung Hei Fat Choi ay nandito na….” This is ironic, because the fast food chain is owned by a Chinese-Filipino who hails from Fujian.
Well, Tsinoys do not understand and speak “Kung Hei Fat Choi.” It’s like saying “Maayong buntag” (Good morning) to a Tagalog who doesn’t understand and speak Bisaya.
Spread the word
So, let's start banishing "Kung Hei Fat Choi" from our vocabulary and start to pratice saying the greeting in Hokkien, "Kiong Hee Huat Tsai," which is widely understood by Tsinoys here.
Spread the word, “Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!”
If you want to greet your friend “Happy New Year” in Mandarin, say it as “Xin Nien Kwai Le” (formally written as “Xin Nian Kuai Le”). In Hokkien, say it as “Sin Ni khòai lok.”
Also, don't also be confused with the lion and dragon dance, which are sometimes interchanged.
The four-legged dancing creature is a lion, which is maneuvered by two dancers (one moves the head while the other moves the tail).
It has wiggling ears and blinking eyes and is the one that also goes around the streets and reaches for the angpao or red envelope hung at the door. It is usually led by a masked man with a fan.
On the other hand, a dragon has a longer body that is maneuvered by more dancers. It is a guided by a man that holds a dragon ball.
Point out the difference when people say "There’s the dragon!" while the dancing creature turns out to be a lion.
Those are just some cultural nuances to take note of. To Filipinos and Filipino-Chinese alike, "Kiong Hee Huat Tsai!"
