At Work
- Most employers give the 13th month of salary to their employees before the long
  holidays.  It is because everybody knows that this is the money-spending time
  of the year.

- At the same time, fortune tellers (in Chinese, we called them "Mr. Fung Shui") are
  the busiest.  Employers whom are taoists always hire a fortune teller around this
  time.  The main purpose is to find out which day would be the best day to re-open
  the company after the long holidays.

  My sister's company does that every year.  So, her holiday varies.  Sometimes, it is
  as short as 3 days.  Sometimes, it can last for 8 days or up.

At Home
- People do their last-minute shopping for the meals, snack box (it is called "Chun
  Hop"), hor d'oeuvre, flowers and decorations.

  When we were kids, my parents always took us to the Victoria Park(they set up the 
  booths very similar to the flea markets) where people sell these stuffs and many
  unique toys.

- In my family, house-cleaning is the most important part of these 2 days.  (becuase 
  my mom is a "clean freak" :-))  It symbolizes getting rid of the bad stuffs and
  everything starts brand new or with a good start.  Plus, nobody is allowed to clean,
  mop, wipe or dust until the 2nd day of the Chinese New Year.

  My mother also started this tradition that I am trying to follow.  Our apartment
  always has hardwood floor.  Every year, my mom broom, mop and poly the floor. 
  Then, she took all of us out for shopping 8 hours.  We always have the nice and
  shiny-like-a-mirror floor every year.  

  If you have hardwood floor at home, you may want to consider that.  It takes some
  time to do the prep work.  But it worths it.  (I did this all by myself this past year. 
  The pride and satisfaction of my capability was so awesome that I cannot find a
  word to describe how great it was.)
  
- My family also has a tradition of everybody putting on new pajamas after the
  shower which has to be completed before the midnight of the first day of the
  Chinese New Year. 

  Before going to bed, our parents always gave us 2 red pocket monies to put under
  our pillows.  It symbolizes of the blessing from the parents to their children of
  healthy, well-behaved and happy.

On the TV
Throughout the whole night, there are always some special programs about the coming year.  Fortune tellers always tell what people, based on their zodiac sign, will expect.

My Chinese calligraphy and painting teacher, Lee Wai An, was always a special guest in a TV channel for several years.  Of course, he always perform of how to write the Chinese writing and/or blessing with the brushes.  One year, he used a brush as big as a mop.

Time to come for the countdown......We always stayed until that late so that we could greet our parents Happy New Year and "Kung Hei Fat Choi" before going to bed.