Chinese New Year celebrates the Year of the Monkey February 8 - 13

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - Happy Chinese New Year! The longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar starts February 7–13 in this year, 2016, or the year 4713 in China. This year will be the Year of the Monkey.

People born in 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, and 2016, are born in the Year of the Monkey. “Monkeys” are witty, intelligent and have a magnetic personality. Personality traits like mischievousness, curiosity, and cleverness, make them very naughty. They like playing practical jokes but don't have any bad intentions. Monkeys are fast learners and crafty opportunists. The Year of the Monkey is considered a bad year for those unlucky to be born in the year of the Monkey. According to Chinese tradition, there are some things people can do to fend off the bad luck…

Wear jade accessories. Jade accessories are symbolic of good luck. Wear pendants, earrings, rings, and bracelets, for luck.

Face the opposite of your most auspicious direction. Feng Shui masters mandate that each of the Chinese symbols have an auspicious direction. To ward off bad luck, face the opposite direction. Since Monkeys most auspicious direction is southwest, they should face northeast.

Feng Shui experts recommend adjusting the direction of beds, seats, desks, and even where they live and work, in an effort to incur good luck. Strict adherence to the following are lucky for "Monkeys":

Lucky numbers: 4 and 9
Lucky days: the 14th and 28th of any Chinese lunar calendar month
Lucky colors: white, blue, gold
Lucky flowers: chrysanthemum, crape-myrtle
Lucky directions: north, northwest, west
Lucky months: Chinese lunar months 8 and 12

Unlucky things that "Monkeys" should avoid:

Unlucky colors: red, pink Unlucky numbers: 2 and 7
Unlucky directions: south, southeast
Unlucky months: Chinese lunar months 7 and 11

For those who aren’t “Monkeys,” the year should be interesting and entertaining...like a ‘barrel full of monkeys.’