Enter the Dragon

"Gung Hay Fat Choy" is the traditional greeting for Chinese New Year. I've seen it translated as "Congratulations and Be Prosperous," which is as decent a greeting as any.

Dragon years include 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, and 2000.

During a busy quarter in late 2003, I missed my chance to design a Christmas mailing for my illustration clients. My wife suggested that I wait until January and send a Chinese New Year card instead. I quite liked that idea, figuring that a card arriving in January of February had a greater chance of being seen than one delivered during the December greetings onslaught.

We've celebrated Chinese New Year for many years, usually by organizing a group dinner with friends. We enjoy having an extra holiday in the dead of winter; particularly one which carries no familial obligations. The Chinese zodiac theme was already part of my vocabulary, and I was enthused to get started.

Once I completed that first card (for the Year of the Monkey), my obsessive nature forced me to continue annually, in order to complete all twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac. I'll send out the last postcard in this series in 2015.

Here's hoping you have a healthy and prosperous year.