RED ENVELOPES. Red is considered the luckiest color and everyone tries to dress in it and have red things all around. Children expect to receive fresh peso bills inside bright red envelopes on which are written Chinese characters. They are called hong bao in Mandarin or ang pao in Hokkien, the language used by Chinese Filipinos.

ANG PAO

DRAGON AND LION DANCE. There is a parade of dancing lions or a dragon in the Binondo district of Manila (the primary Chinatown) and even in a few other cities in the Philippines where there is a sizable Chinese presence.

The lion's head is large and has a body of long, colorful fabric. Dancers must be strong in holding it up and skillful in manipulating it in an animated way. Homeowners leave ang pao on top of their entrance gates or hang it by their door for the lion dancers to pick up while dancing in costume.

How can you tell if it's a dragon or a lion that's dancing? The dragon has a longer body and is controlled by eight or more people. Its body is propped up with poles. The lion has four legs (two dancers — one in charge of the head and the other of the tail end). The dancer in front who holds the lion's head can make its ear wiggle and blink its eyes. He's the one in charge of picking up the ang pao.

CHINESE GREETING. In the Hokkien language that most Chinese Filipinos speak, the Chinese New Year greeting is Kiong Hee Huat Tsai. To compare, the Cantonese version dominant in Hong Kong is Kung Hei Fat Choi and the Mandarin is Gong Xi Fa Cai. It means "Congratulations and Be Prosperous."