Year of the Rat: How to Celebrate in 2020

From pre-festival cleaning and new year shopping to decorating and gift exchanging. This year, celebrations take place from January 24-30, 2020. The actual Chinese New Year for 2020 is on January 25, 2020. And 2020 is the year of the rat.

For the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year as it is also called, the color red can be seen everywhere from decorations, outfits, gifts, envelopes, and more. Red is believed to be a color that attracts prosperity and success in the future. I’ve celebrated with my family growing up, and nothing gets me more excited than celebrating the Year of the Dragon. Since that isn’t until every 12 years in my own sign, I’ve enjoyed each year of growth and cherishing time with family and exchanging red envelopes. In this celebration and desire for a new life, the year ahead can mean a lot of things to people.

What can you do to appreciate and enjoy the Year of the Rat? Well, I’ll tell you what to do (and not todo).

In your car, you can decorate it with red Chinese knots to ward off evil spirits in the new year, which acts as a good luck charm. That sounds helpful to keep the reckless drivers away, so you can enjoy life in your car and no insurance hassles. (Note: You do not want an accident on New Year’s Day! This would be seen as a bad omen.) You can also gather your envelopes together in a basket and drive to your friends or mail them gifts to wish them. Giving gifts in lucky numbers such as 2, 3, 6, 8, and 9 are welcomed. (Eight is considered extra lucky and associated with wealth.) I’ve tucked a coin and Chinese knot in each of my envelopes for friends and family. I wish them double the blessings ahead in 2020.

Drive to watch some fireworks in your red outfit, eat lucky food like fish or specifically catfish, and find a local celebration to appreciate the festivities. Thankfully in Texas, we have HMART and catfish on the menu all around the state. I decided on Chinese dumplings this year, so it will be a year of great wealth. (We can use all the help we can get, right?) And now, it’s one thing to take a family road trip and partake in these activities, but don’t be unlucky (and boring) and decide to stay at home to sweep on New Year’s Day. Don’t sweep all your luck away!

Go see your loved ones and express a prosperous affirmation like gong xi fa cai, which translates to “Happiness and prosperity.” Or as Chinese comedian Ronny Chieng exclaims in his Netflix Stand-Up show “Ronny Chieng: Asian Comedian Destroys America!” that for the Chinese New Year, everyone tells each other, “Hope you get rich!”

While we’re dreaming of bringing home a Dodge Challenger RT Scat Pack or a 3-row SUV like the Kia Telluride, I hope you get the car of your upgrade dreams this year. Have a happy, prosperous, and lucky 2020 in your car and beyond!