Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year is the most important Festival on the traditional Chinese calendar.  It is part of the Spring Festival that starts on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar and ends of the 15th day that is called Lantern Festival.

This year Hong Kong celebrates the start of the Year of the Tiger that coincides with the (western) Valentine’s Day on February 14, 2010.

Here are some of the traditional decorations that can be seen around Hong Kong:

Lucky bamboo

Lucky bamboo is known as ‘Kai Yun Zhu’  in Chinese, which means ‘bamboo that invites good fortune’.

Lucky Bamboo represents the natural 5 elements of water, earth, wood, metal and fire to balance the flow of energy or ‘chi’ in the house.

A red ribbon is tied around the stalks to represent the fire element. The number of bamboo stalks and layers has its own symbolic meaning:

2 for Love & Marriage

3 for Happiness

5 for Perfection

6 for Luck

8 for Wealth and Abundance

9 for Everlasting Good Fortune and Happiness

Tangerines & oranges

Tangerines and oranges are commonly displayed in homes and shops. Tangerines symbolises ‘good tidings’ as it sounds like ‘good luck’ in Chinese. Oranges symbolises wealth as it sounds like ‘gold’ in Cantonese.

Peach blossoms

Peach blossoms symbolise ‘courage and hope’. The blossoms burst forth at the end of winter season on a seemingly lifeless branch.

Here are some more pictures I took around Hung Hom Bay: