Want to say Happy Chinese New Year in Chinese and Mandarin today? It’s not gong hei fat choy, so here’s how to give it a go. Chinese New Year falls on Wednesday, January 29 and this year is the Year of the Wood Snake.

The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar, which differs from the Gregorian calendar used in the West. Each year is associated with one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac and one of the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water).

Celebrated across Asia and beyond, it marks the start of a new year based on the cycles of the moon rather than the Gregorian calendar, when the majority of the United States and