China just set the party on fire with the advent of it's New Year. The Year of the Dog, a time of luck and fortune, where the Chinese happily celebrate their flow of yearly comings and goings. Whereas western astrology goes by months, they go by years, and this year is being hyped as a really great year. Only time will tell, but right now for China, it's time to sing Happy New Year.

The Lunar New Year's Eve kicked off on Feb. 15, as everyone in China had the day to leave work early, meet with family and friends for great dinners, and to get ready for the festivities.

In China, around 4 p.m. GMT, when the clock hit midnight tons of viewers saw the Chinese Near Year Gala aired by China Central Television Station.

The Chinese zodiac comprised of twelve animals landed in 2018 on the Year of the Dog, with the Year of the Rooster before it and the Year of the Pig next in line. If you were born in 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 or 2018 it's your year.

Also since the year ends in an eight, 2018, it's being considered a lucky year by the Chinese because, in specific Chinese dialects, the number eight sounds like the word fortune, according to the DailyMail.com.

Just to give you an idea of what the Chinese New Year is like, here are some facts to contemplate.

  • The date of the New Year changes every year and is called the Spring Festival, lasing 15 days and ending in the Lantern Festival.
  • One-sixth of the global population celebrates the Chinese New Year and that's a lot of people, over a billion.
  • It's the longest public holiday, over two weeks, and it has the most annual rocketing off of fireworks on Earth.
  • The most used greeting in the Chinese New Year is "Guo Nian Hao," "Happy New Year"
  • specifically for the Year of the Dog, "gǒunián jíxiáng" means "Good luck for this Dog year," and, "gǒunián dàjí," means "lots of luck for this Dog year,"

Chinese astrology has each year represented by an animal and in addition one of the five forces of nature. They are Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. The year 2018's element is  Earth.

Susan Levitt an astrologist says, traits specific to this year of the Dog are, "stable, honest, practical, industrious, prudent, reliable, kind, and loyal." She also said, "Dog year is a time of fairness and equality. Controversial issues are given their due, revolutions are successful, politics are liberal, and political oppression is opposed. Integrity and honesty are the values that lead to success under Dog’s watchful and just influence."

Right now this is the time for celebration for the Chinese people and with hope, their goodwill during this time and luck may rub off onto everyone else. Happy New Year!