KEY POINTS:
About 10,000 people are expected at Ellerslie racecourse today as part of Auckland's celebrations for the Chinese New Year.
The festival, which begins tomorrow, ushers in the Year of the Pig.
For purists and students of the Chinese lunar calendar, it is not just any old pig, but the fire pig.
As Auckland's Chinese population grows, the festival is attracting more events, such as the Ellerslie free-entry event.
Activities through the day include karaoke, lucky prize draws and greetings on the big screen from Hong Kong TV celebrities.
Other Auckland events include an acrobatic show at SkyCity, featuring displays by 25 top Chinese performers, as well as a Spring Festival concert, led by Chinese conductor Li Xin Cao, at 7.30pm tomorrow in the Auckland Town Hall.
Festivities continue over the next fortnight with activities in the city's libraries, including lantern-making and cooking classes, and culminate with the Lantern Festival in Albert Park on March 2-4.
This coincides with the next full moon and is officially the end of the Chinese New Year period.
The lunar calendar works in cycles of 12, with each year represented by an animal.
In order, they are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
The cycle of 12 is repeated five times, with each animal allocated an element (wood, fire, earth, metal or water) and with a yin or yang characteristic, either passive or active.
This means that in the larger 60-year cycle, no two animals are the same.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated on a date which corresponds with the second new moon of the calendar year.
Because of this, the time between Chinese New Year observations is not always a standard length.
The Year of the Pig finishes on February 6 next year, to be followed by the Year of the Rat.
The Chinese name for pig is zhu, pronounced similar to zoo.
People born under the sign of the pig are said to be honest and thoughtful, patient and understanding.
They may be thought to be gullible, because they will do anything for a friend in need.
Notable pigs include American presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton (born October 1947), Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (also 1947), celebrity chef Nigella Lawson (January 1960), ex-Royal Sarah Ferguson (October 1959), singer Marie Osmond (1959), actor and singer Julie Andrews (1935), former American President Ronald Reagan (1911), diplomat Henry Kissinger (1923) and French Queen Marie Antoinette (1755).
