Cute Pig Things for Lunar New Year

The Year of The Pig – that’s 2019 in the lunar calendar. It’s celebrated on Tuesday, February 5th this year. Contrary to what I thought, it’s not just China that celebrates the Lunar New Year; Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and other Asian countries celebrate it as well. According to this article, “all celebrations have one common feature: family reunions. Many go back home to spend time with family, even if they live far away, and have New Year’s Eve dinner – the most important holiday dinner in China and many other Asian countries.” Basically, it sounds a bit like Thanksgiving.

In addition to celebrating with family, there’s a tradition of red envelopes. I had seen a number of YouTube videos last year about getting them from high end retailers, but this year I decided I should find out what’s the story behind them – and there is one!

It turns out there’s an entire legend behind the red envelopes. Once upon a time, there was an evil spirit named Sui (祟) who would appear on New Year’s Eve. It would pat the heads of the sleeping children three times. When they children awoke, they would have a fever, and even if, yes, that’s an IF, they recovered they would never be the same again. (Anyone feeling like the author of this had something in common with the Brother’s Grimm?) After their child had played with coins, the parents were probably too tired to do more with them, so they placed them on red paper and left it by the pillow. Then Sui showed up, but the coins scared him away. From then on, parents give their children money in red envelopes for New Year. Hmm… what are you going to do with the money in those red envelopes? I have some ideas…

1. H&M – Deep Porcelain Plate & Porcelain Cup | 2. Monica Vinader – Chinese Zodiac Bessie The Pig Pendant Charm | 3. Macy’s – Radley London – If Pigs Could Fly Leather Flapover Wallet | 4. Becca – Shimmering Skin Perfector® Pressed Highlighter Lunar New Year | 5. Teeseo – Hello Kitty Lunar New Year, Year Of The Pig Sweatshirt | 6. Etsy – Pig Tea Towel – Pig Bandanna  | 7. Neiman Marcus – Lancome – L’Absolue Rouge Lunar New Year 2019 | 8. Society6 – Bubble Gum Sneaky Baby Pig in Green Framed Art Print | 9. DKNY – Year of the pig graphic tee | 10. ASOS – DESIGN pig socks

This porcelain plate and cup are from H&M home. I’ve found that you can find some adorable things! These might be for kids, but I would use them to usher in the Year of the pig. The cup would be great for my daily coffee — who doesn’t want to see a cute pig nose every morning? I know I sure do.

If you want to go subtle, this Monica Vinader necklace is for you. The charm and necklace come separately, but since they’re both a beautiful rose gold, I think you should just go for it. It’s so dainty — when has that ever been said about a pig?

Growing up I would hear the phrase, “When pigs fly” a lot. I don’t know about you guys, but it was definitely one of the favorite phrases of my parents. I would just like to say, look! Pigs are flying! At least on this wallet. Not only is a pig flying, so is a dog. It’s like my dream world on this wallet! I would love to live in a world where pigs and dogs are able to fly — hopefully I would be too!

How cute is this highlighter compact from Becca? I love how the pig has personality. It’s like the old cartoon books of the Three Little Pigs where they’re cartoony and cute. Becca’s highlighters are also great, so it’s a good time to snap one up. They’re all sold out at Sephora US, but you can still get them at other places. Better get it before it’s sold out everywhere!

This sweatshirt combines everything that’s fun about the lunar year of 2019 — a pig AND Hello Kitty. Come on, you know I’m not the only fan of hers. Did you know “Hello Kitty is the second highest-grossing franchise of all time, with an estimated retail sales revenue exceeding $50 billion, in 2018?” I knew you liked her, too.

Sometimes you want to spruce up your kitchen for a bit. This tea towel is the perfect way to do that. It’s another adorable pig, wearing a bandanna! It would be great for now, but also for spring in general. Since the groundhog didn’t see it’s shadow so we are looking forward to an early spring! Whoo hoo.

Kudos to Lancome for bringing it with this lipstick. It brings to mind the red of the envelopes given to the children. There are two different shades, but I like this red best. It looks like it would be a true red.

Someone’s looking at you! Just this adorable, gum chewing pig, that’s who. This would be adorable in a children’s bedroom, or as part of a quirky gallery wall. I love that it’s against a mint backdrop because it makes the pig and the bubble pop — pardon the pun.

One more shirt to wear on Tuesday to celebrate. This pig is cute, not as cartoony, and pops against the red of the shirt. Again, the red is calling to mind the red envelopes, but it’s not just that. The tradition of red for Lunar celebrations is that it symbolises good fortune and joy.

If you work at a stuffy office, you might want to have some fun with these pig socks. It would be cute to see them peeking out of black slacks. I like how the ears come up a little higher on the sock itself. What a fun detail.

Will you be celebrating the arrival of the Lunar New Year? According to this website, ” 2019 is a great year to make money, and a good year to invest! 2019 is going to be full of joy, a year of friendship and love for all the zodiac signs; an auspicious year because the Pig attracts success in all the spheres of life.” I don’t know about you all, but that sounds like an awesome year ahead. Let’s go get it!