E-Mail This Article to a Friend Monkeying around Tips for celebrating the Chinese New Year in style BY GENEVIEVE RAJEWSKI

WAS waking UP with a hangover not exactly how you wanted to begin 2004? You’re in luck. The Chinese New Year begins on January 22, allowing you to start the Year of the Monkey, well, anew.

Also known as the Spring Festival, the 15-day Chinese New Year festivities once celebrated the legend of humans’ triumph over the ferocious, mythical monster Nián, whose name means "year." Today, it’s about family reunions and wishing everyone good fortune for the coming year.

For a more auspicious start this time around, head to Black Ink, where you’ll find Five-Fold Happiness: Chinese Concepts of Luck, Prosperity, Longevity, Happiness, and Wealth (Chronicle Books, 2002; $18.95), Vivien Sung’s guide to Chinese symbolism. "The Chinese believe that by layering their lives with lucky objects and images, they increase their chances of a happy and prosperous existence," writes Sung, and embracing this philosophy is the key to welcoming in the New Year.

Now synonymous with Chinese New Year, firecrackers were once used to drive off Nián, who was afraid of noise, light, and the color red. At Silky Way/Chinese American Co., you can choose from red-firecracker mobiles ($7.50/small; $9.50/large), accordion-paper clicker dragon noisemakers ($1.25), and party poppers (65 cents). Also used for protection are Silky Way’s red-paper lanterns ($12) printed with lucky children, a boy and girl in traditional dress. Silky Way also stocks lanterns printed with the fù ("luck") character ($12). The character commonly appears upside-down during New Year’s because it creates a visual pun that means "luck has arrived."

In addition, Silky Way carries vertical scrolls of spring couplets ($1/four), gold characters on red paper that ask for good luck. Pin them in pairs on each side of an entryway on New Year’s Eve. The shop also has a wide assortment of red packets ($2.15/25), or hóng bao. During the festival, elders put money in these decorated paper envelopes and give them to children.

A bounty of food is served during the festival, most of which has a symbolic meaning. For example, because fish (yù) sounds like "plenty," it’s often eaten on New Year’s Eve to symbolize a wish for abundance. Saving some fish to eat on New Year’s Day (as well as leaving the head and tail attached) symbolizes a good beginning and end to the coming year. Jumbo Seafood will prepare a Hunan-style crispy whole fish (market price) fresh from its tanks. Moon cakes are also eaten because the year is based on the lunar calendar. Hing Shing Pastry makes black-bean, brown-lotus-seed, and lotus-seed-egg-yolk moon cakes ($2.70–$3.20) imprinted with Chinese characters.

On January 27, Pho République will celebrate Tet Nguyen Dan, the Vietnamese New Year, with a special three-course dinner ($45) featuring dishes from China and Vietnam. Each guest will receive a red packet containing a Chinese proverb or possibly a gift certificate, and a shot of litchi vodka, because litchi represents strong family relationships.

Of course, no New Year’s celebration would be complete without the Lion Dance, accompanied by drums, gongs, and cymbals. You can catch the dance at the Chinatown festivities on January 25. The revelry kicks off at 11 a.m. in Phillips Square (Harrison Avenue/Essex Street) and runs until 6 p.m.

Where to find it:

• Black Ink, 101 Charles Street, Boston, (617) 723-3883.

• Hing Shing Pastry, 67 Beach Street, Boston, (617) 451-1162.

• Jumbo Seafood, 5-9 Hudson Street, Boston, (617) 542-2823; www.jumboseafoodrestaurant.com.

• Pho République, 1415 Washington Street, Boston, (617) 262-000.

• Silky Way/Chinese American Co., 38 Kneeland Street, Boston, (617) 451-5719.