MANILA, Philippines — Hopes are up for the country as Filipinos joined the Chinese community in welcoming the “Year of the Water Dragon,” which is predicted to ring in a string of luck for many local industries and particularly boost tourism and foreign investments.

Joseph Chau, international geomancer, said the Lunar New Year (or the Spring Festival) which marks the beginning of the “Dragon Year” will bring general luck and prosperity to the Philippines, but the nation must brace for natural disasters.

The President’s official family in Malacañang greeted the Chinese community and shared in the hope for a prosperous 2012.

“We would like to greet a very Happy New Year to our Fil-Chinese brothers and sisters and we would like to say that we also share their hopes that 2012 will certainly be more productive and more prosperous for our entire country,” Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said.

She also welcomed the good forecast for President Benigno S. Aquino III, who, Chau said, will be a lucky guy this year.

According to Chau, Aquino, who is a Golden Rat in the Chinese calendar, stands to bring money luck to the Philippines and find his First Lady along the way.

He (the President) is going to be lucky this coming year of the Water Dragon as he will have enough energy or fire element to bring money luck for the country,” said Chau.

Master Chau said money luck will come from two prominent industries in the country – tourism and trading.

“The President needs to motivate his people in the tourism industry, encourage them to do promotions to encourage tourists to come,” Chau said.

He added that the government should not limit to 14 the number of days that tourists are allowed to stay in the country. “It should be 21 days to a month for the visitors to really enjoy the natural beauty of the country.”

To attract more investors, Chau said: “the government should exert extra effort to entice the rich people from China to invest in industries in the Philippines by making it very easy for them to come and stay and invest.” He added that banking hours should be extended from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and to improve transactions using Letters of Credit or LOCs.

Money luck will also come to the following industries – lumber, fashion, garments, education, banking, tourism, trading (cars most especially), publishing and mining. The real estate sector will face many challenges.

Chau said Aquno, 51, will also be lucky in love. Last week, it was reported that he went on a date with a lady friend.

Based on the Chinese Almanac, the Year of the Water Dragon, the only sign that is legendary, begins today, Jan. 23, 2012, and ends on Feb. 9, 2013.

Similar to Western astrology, the characteristics of the animal that rules the year are believed to define individuals from that birth year.

Experts said those born in the Year of the Dragon are full of passion, intuitiveness, and superior intellect. They are honest, sensitive, and brave, but can be difficult to deal with. Dragons are said to be most compatible with Rats, Snakes, Monkeys, and Roosters.

Days of colorful festivals, intense preparations, parades, dragon and lion dances, fireworks display, visits to friends and relatives, and the largest human migration around the world to travel home to attend reunions culminated Sunday with the onset of the Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays.

New Year’s Eve traditions were observed, including the thorough cleaning of homes, wearing of new clothes and shoes, opening of doors, windows, and lights, getting a new haircut, cleaning and repainting of altars, preparation of fruits believed to invite good fortune on tables, and the repainting of doors and window panes. The color red, the emblem of joy and prosperity and which is believed to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune, was liberally used in painting and decorating.

Lucky money in red envelopes were given to children, sweets were served, while some bathed in boiled pomelo leaves for good health.

The Eve of the Passing Year reunion dinners were also held serving an abundance of food like fish, chicken, dumplings, nuts, noodles, and sweets like “tikoy,” the popular glutinous rice flour cake, to symbolize prosperity, abundance, longevity, and good fortune as well as in thanksgiving for the blessings of the past year.

The celebration of the Chinese New Year traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar and ends 15 days later with the observance of the Lantern Festival. (With reports from Isabel C. de Leon and Christina I. Hermoso)