Seasons Greetings from Paragon’s Hong Kong Office

Angela Pirrie, Director Global Relocation Services

Since the end of November, Hong Kong’s multi-diverse culture has adorned its surroundings with seasonal greetings, tinsel, poinsettias flowers, beautifully adorned Christmas trees with soft background Christmas music. The outside of skyscrapers along Victoria Harbour show seasonal greetings, with Santa on his sleigh amidst presents galore. And unless you are one of the estimated 8% of the 7 million population who are Christians in Hong Kong, Christmas isn’t really a time to spend with family or celebrating at church, but rather for hanging out with friends and buying your children or significant other gifts.

Regardless of your religion in Hong Kong, Chinese New Year is the time when families celebrate and spend time together eating traditional foods and catching up. For at least one day of the year, stores close and Dim Sum restaurants increase their service charges. This is when the Christmas decorations are changed to red and yellow chrysanthemum plants and mandarin orange trees, and red packets are festooned in trees with ribbons. The temples are open 24 hours and the markets bustle more than before. Red and gold are the colours of this season and traditions and superstitions are plentiful. Along with dragon dancing parades and spectacular firework and laser shows, Hong Kong certainly goes to town welcoming the New Lunar Year. Chinese New Year falls on different days each year as it follows the lunar calendar. The first 3 days of the first month in the lunar calendar are public holidays in Hong Kong.

Before Chinese New Year it’s time to ‘spring’ clean your home and buy lots of goodies to share with family. Only new clothes are to be worn as Chinese New Year starts and friends, family and employers hand out Lai-See, red envelopes containing lucky money, where of course only brand new crisp notes will do! Traditionally it is also time to make lots of noise to scare away the ‘Year Monster’ as he doesn’t like noise and he detests the colour red. In Hong Kong many people put red paper posters on the outside of their front doors, traditionally to scare the monster away. For fourteen days after the start of Chinese New Year it’s not considered lucky to make any major changes or to buy new shoes. Needless to say, before Chinese New Year is a good time for shoe sales in Hong Kong!

From the Paragon team in Asia Pacific, we wish you all the very best of the season and for Chinese New Year… “Kung Hey Fat Choi” from the Hong Kong office.