Festivities for the Chinese New Year begin on Feb. 19 through March 5.

This year is one of the years of the goat. Specifically, 2015 is the year of the wood goat, which occurs every 60 years.

Typically, families celebrate together for the Chinese New Year, starting with a traditional New Year’s Eve feast called the Reunion Dinner and continuing through the Spring Festival, which has a history of more than 4,000 years.

People born in the year of the wood goat are amicable, gentle, compassionate, shy and creative.

According to Chinese astrology, goats have their own lucky things, including numbers (2, 7, or numbers containing 2 and 7); days (the 7th and 30th of any month); colors (brown, red and purple) and direction (north). Equally interesting are unlucky things to be avoided, such as the colors green, blue and black, numbers 6 and 8, the southwest direction and the third, sixth and tenth lunar months.

A goat’s lucky flowers are the primrose and carnation, which begin to bloom in February.

Visit LakeWildernessArboretum.org, email info@lakewildernessarboretum.org or call 253- 293-5103 to volunteer, donate or become a member.