The notion of getting together with the family will always lie at the heart of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

What is the Significance of Chinese Characters?

Let is look into the significance of the Lunar New Year decorations by appreciating the customary practice in the Chinese homes.

Similar to Spring cleaning in the West, an enormous clean-up gets
underway days before the Lunar New Year when homes are cleaned thoroughly. Decorations then become an important feature of the celebrations.

Many of the decorations are highly symbolic. Red and gold are the lucky colours. They symbolise good fortune. Other decorations also reflect Chinese folks’ hopes for the New Year.

The “Red Couplets” are popular forms of home decorations. There are Chinese good luck sayings written on red paper, often with gold trimmings and usually made up of four Chinese characters. Themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity are printed on them.

There are also some interesting play of words. For instance, folks may take a large Chinese character “Fu” which means Happiness and place it “upside down” on the front door. The Chinese phrase when translated means “your luck has arrived”. This “upside down” strategy is also used for other Chinese characters such as “Lu” (Wealth) and “Chun” (Spring) for the home. All these symbolize abundance for the New Year.

What is the Meaning of exchanging Mandarin Oranges?

Tradition has it that you must bring a basket of mandarin oranges together with a red packet when visiting family or friends anytime during the Chinese New Year celebrations. It is an indication on the building of a firm friendship between guests and hosts.

For newly weds, this represents the branching of the couple into a family with many children. A pair of mandarin oranges for them symbolises the expanding of a couple into a family with children and grandchildren. Mandarin oranges are symbols for abundant happiness and good fortune.



What is the Significance of Flowers for Chinese New Year?

If flowers bloom on New Year’s Day, it is believed to be a symbol of good luck.

Peach blossoms are auspicious flowers. Arriving in Spring as they do, they symbolise life, growth and prosperity. The peach blossoms is the most auspicious of all plants because of the symbolic importance of the peach. The peach, in Chinese culture, is a symbol of long life. Should the peach blossom bloom during New Year celebrations, it is a sure sign that the year ahead will be one of good fortune!

Similarly, Plum blossoms stand for courage and hope. The blossoms burst forth at the end of winter on a branch representing new life.



What is the significance of the Red Packet?

Red packets are presented by married couples to children or folks who are single. The red is used for its auspicious meaning of happiness, good cheer and joy. The decoration on the red packet may have a blessing or good wish. The symbolic giving of the money represents a wish for good fortune and wealth in the coming New Year.
(Adaptation)