虎年你的财运将会如何?

The Chinese are very superstitious and that means they take symbolism seriously. It's the year of the tiger, representing courage and uNPRedictability. Locals come to this market to buy good luck charms. Customers at this snack store are scooping up all sorts of New Year's treats.

It's a tradition for all of us Chinese to get these sesame balls during Chinese New Year. We use them to worship our ancestors and we say if we have more sesame balls at home then more gold and silver will come into our house. It's really to bring us more wealth in the New Year.

Roasted melon seeds symbolize coins, so this means scooping up lots of money. Rice cakes in the shape of fish are big sellers too. In Cantonese the word for fish sounds the same as the word for savings.

Another item locals wanna buy for the New Year for good luck is red underwear. Red symbolizes wealth and prosperity and the Chinese want new clothes for the New Year from head to toe and underneath.

I'm willing to spend on underwear because it's like my second skin. Margar Wang buys three lingerie sets every New Year, believing red will bring her good luck.

I've been doing this for a long time. It's a tradition in my family to buy new clothes. I would feel strange if I didn't do this every year.

Lunar New Year is the most profitable time of year for this lingerie store. Sixty percent of purchases are red. The next best sellers are yellow which represents the metal gold and purple which symbolizes friendship.

The sales from these colors and these products account for one fifth of our sales during January to February.

The banks are also very busy with customers ordering brand-new bills to give away as New Year's gifts to younger relatives or junior colleagues. It's considered good luck for the giver and recipient.

Then everyone waits to see if the tiger comes out roaring down a path of good fortune.

Glossary

Lingerie: women’s underwear

Brand-new: new and not yet used