Last updated on July 16th, 2020 at 08:23 pm

Farewell, 2019!

Happy New Year! We have said that sentence many times in the last week, and in a few weeks Chinese people will have their New Year.

A common New Year’s greeting among Chinese speakers is “Xin nian kuai le,” but not everyone says it like that. In places where Cantonese is more widely spoken, like Hong Kong, you’ll hear “gong hei fat choy,” and in Mandarin you’ll hear “gong xi fa cai.”

• • Happy New Year in Simplified Chinese is written: 新年快乐 
  • Happy New Year in Traditional  Chinese is written: 新年快樂

At this moment in history, almost one in five people around the world will be celebrating the Chinese New Year of 2020, the Year of the Rat. Rats and people born under that sign are considered clever, resourceful, and adaptable. Our Translation Company wants to highlight this important holiday with some resolutions we can use to make 2020 a prosperous, fulfilling year.

The Year of the Rat

The Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is scheduled according to the lunar calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar. This means that the Chinese New Year has a different date every year. This year, January 25th is the official day that the year turns. Celebrations last from New Year’s Eve until the Lantern Festival on the night of February 8th. A public holiday is observed from January 24th to January 30th.

Resolution: Celebrate New Beginnings

In 2020, instigate new beginnings and take initiative while you run your business. One big way to do that is to take your business international.
Have you been considering taking your business international? How about investigating new markets? Having your website translated is a great way to start. A huge portion of internet users prefer to speak a language other than English in their daily lives. For the Chinese language, that number is 1.2 billion, or about 16% of the world’s population. By using Chinese translation services, you make your business visible and accessible to over a billion people. Think of Chinese language translation services as an investment in your business’s future.

Resolution: Be Flexible

The changeable dates of the Spring Festival and the Chinese New Year festival period always generate a burst of activity. People are coordinating travel, hosting, and gathering supplies. As your business grows, be flexible and consider the schedules of your new markets. Localize for their dialects, needs, tastes, and wants. For a Chinese translation, consider if you’ll need Simplified or Traditional Chinese. To know that, you need to know where your audience is located.
A message needs to be translated accurately, but it must also resonate with the desired audience. Linguistic and cultural localization is part of getting to know your market and produces a message that proves your value to that market.

Resolution: Honor Your Past and Create a Bold Future

Holiday origin stories are always fun to explore as one of a culture’s unique facets. In one legend about the Chinese New Year, a monster would attack at around this time every year, until it was confronted by hundreds of flames burning in the houses and streets, and the noise and sparks of thousands of firecrackers. To this day as part of the celebration, candles, lanterns, and fuses are lit to scare away evil and misfortune.
The color red is a signifier of wealth and good fortune, and is used everywhere you look. Historically, red envelopes containing money have been given to children so they will have good fortune in the new year. Today, red envelopes are often given digitally, a perfect example of a tradition continuing and evolving with technology.

Resolution: Remember What is Truly Important to You.

During the Chinese New Year celebrations, people reunite with loved ones and celebrate relationships and memories. These days are a time to learn from the past, celebrate the now, and move into the future with confidence.
Reevaluate your mission statement and what you wanted to do when you started your business. Think of how that has grown and changed. What do you want to leave behind? What are some things you want to spend more resources on?

Resolution: Gratitude

It is important to honor traditions and culture. We at JR Language recognize that traditions are part of who we are as people, families, ethnic groups, and nations. Learning about traditions and cultures enriches our perspective of the world and each other. Happy New Year to our Chinese clients!
We are so grateful for the help and partnership of our Chinese translators and interpreters. If you are in need of Chinese translation and interpretation services, contact JR Language to get a quote and begin planning. Remember that most of our Chinese translators and interpreters will be taking time off to celebrate and be with family and friends during the celebration of the Chinese New Year.