Enter the Chinese Year of the Pig. You're in luck!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Some celebrate the Chinese New Year by attending a lavish, $500-a-plate ball. Others like to eat dumplings and observe the pageantry. And for a few women, the Year of the Pig promises such good luck, they plan to become pregnant.

"I have friends who are planning to get pregnant this year," said a giggling Judy Li, who was celebrating the Chinese New Year in Toronto with her two-year-old daughter, Kethrin. "The Year of the Pig is considered very, very lucky."

Ms. Li, 30, was among thousands yesterday who attended the Chinese New Year celebrations at Exhibition Place in Toronto, a city that boasts a Chinese community of about 400,000. There were dance performances, dumplings and magic shows. Vendors sold a myriad of items, including freshwater-pearl necklaces, bonsai trees and red satin dresses.

For the younger crowd, such as Jackie Zhou, 16, a Toronto high-school student, it was an opportunity to introduce a new culture to Australian exchange student Meg Kluver-Jones, 14 -- gathering freebies of shampoo and beef jerky along the way.

Propitious porker

The Age

Tue Feb 20

2