Symbols of Prosperity: The Art of Chinese New Year

Close-Up Shot of Chinese Lanterns Close-Up Shot of Chinese Lanterns (Pexels)

Bringing prosperity, luck, and happiness for the year ahead, Chinese New Year decorations are rich in cultural significance and symbolism. Adorning homes with a flash of symbolic red, the decorations are believed to bring positive energy and intentions for the future at a time of great celebration in China and across the world.

Also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, decorations play a crucial role in this worldwide celebration, and are imbued with deep cultural meanings that extend beyond mere aesthetics. Rooted in mythology, its origins can be traced to the story of the monster, Nián, who is said to have terrorized villages once a year. So, in response legend has it that villagers prepared a feast before Nian’s arrival, set off firecrackers as a deterrent, and festooned their houses in red to scare away the monster.

Dominating Chinese New Year, the color red symbolizes happiness and good fortune in Chinese culture. Traditionally, ornately decorated red envelopes are given as gifts to friends and family, and the color is significant, as it symbolizes vitality, joy, and is believed to ward off evil spirits and bring happiness.

Symbolism is everywhere during new year in China, as spring couplets and Fu characters express prosperity, longevity, and happiness, while decorations like Menshen (or door Gods) protect homes from negative influences. Symbolism is also present in fish, mandarin oranges, and traditional God of Wealth paintings invoke abundance and financial prosperity. These traditional practises promote a cultural continuity, reinforce a cultural identity, and promote a sense of belonging.

Traditional Decorative Symbols

Red Lanterns and Couplets (Chunlian)

Whether they’re hanging from trees, decorating office buildings, lamp posts, houses, or decorating city streets, red lanterns are one of the most identifiable decorations of Chinese New Year, which also hold great cultural significance. The choice of the color red is significant, as it represents happiness and good fortune, while hanging a red lantern in front of the door is believed to drive off bad luck.

Often displayed in great numbers, red lanterns create a festive atmosphere and signify the light of hope and renewal of life. Similarly, meticulously crafted couplets (or Chunlian) are pairs of poetic lines that are traditionally written by hand on red paper banners that express good wishes and symbolize hope and aspirations for the coming year.

The poetic lines are written vertically in black ink and pasted on either side of doors to express prosperity, longevity, and happiness, often focusing on themes of harmony, wealth, and health. Themes that are transferable cross different cultures.

After rising in popularity during the Ming dynasty (between 1368 and 1644), couplets are now ubiquitous at Chinese New Year celebrations and are usually posted in pairs, as even numbers are associated with good luck and prosperity in certain parts of Chinese culture.

Paper Cuttings (Jianzhi)

Chinese New Year is a time of ornate, bright and bold decorations, which is embodied by intricate paper cuttings depicting animals from the Chinese zodiac, flowers, and traditional symbols like fish.

These decorations are placed on windows and doors for their decorative qualities, while delicate designs reflect prosperity, longevity, and to also guard against evil spirits. The cuttings can be any color, but they’re typically red and glued to a contrasting backing or a transparent surface for maximum visibility.

Each animal or plant used in paper cuttings has a deep symbolic meaning and represents a different wish for the coming year, with depictions of plants and animal usually proving the most popular themes during New Year celebrations.

Cuttings of a fish signify abundance, a peach symbolizes longevity, fertility is represented by a pomegranate, the Mandarin duck characterizes love, the pine tree denotes eternal youth, and a magpie perched on the branch of a plum tree represents the foreshadowing of a lucky event.

Festive Foods and Table Settings

Like many celebrations across the word, Chinese New Year is a family occasion, with the New Year’s Eve dinner forming a central part of Chinese calendar. Even during hard times, the New Year’s Eve banquet is often as abundant in food and decorations as it is in symbolism, with tables brimming with delicacies.

Delicacies like fish dishes are rich with symbolism, as the Chinese character for fish reads the same as the character for plenty and represents Niannian Youyu, meaning plenty of wealth every year. For dessert, the ping-pong shaped Tang Yuan cake is made from glutinous rice flour and filled with bean or nut powder and eaten with soup. In Chinese, Tang Yuan sounds like Tuan Yuan, which means reunion. Symbolic of family unity and the hope for a sweet and harmonious year, these round treats date back more than 1,000 years to the Tang Dynasty (618 to 906).

It’s not just the food that has meaning, as table decorations are also chosen to attract good fortune, good health, and prosperity. Blending traditional symbolism with contemporary style, Chinese New Year table decorations form an important part of the festivities.

Flowers like plum blossom, orchids, peonies, and narcissus can be placed to represent renewal, beauty, and good fortune, while red adorns tablecloths, placemats, and napkins to symbolize good fortune and joy, with gold representing wealth and prosperity. Red envelopes containing money are given as gifts for good luck, Chinese knots symbolize good luck and unity, while candles symbolize warmth and family togetherness, to create a table filled with color and meaning.

Regional Variations

With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, China spans five time zones, borders 14 countries, and is the world’s second-most populous country after India. It’s a vast country filled with distinct regional traditions that contribute to variations in decorations, customs, and even greetings. In northern China, people speak Mandarin and commonly greet people with Xinnian Kuaile (meaning Happy New Year), whereas in Guangdong and Hong Kong, the Cantonese version of the greeting is Gong Hey Fat Choi (wishing you a prosperous year).

The differences are felt across the country and worldwide. In southern China (and across the worldwide in parades), street performances of lion and dragon dances are popular, as are fresh peach slices, sliced rice cakes, egg rolls, green bean cake, and asparagus rolls, with people often celebrating by chatting and drinking late into the night. Whereas it’s visiting temples that’s a popular custom in the north, where people gather at midnight to see the fireworks and watch the annual Spring Festival Gala on TV.

Decorations are also tied to specific region, helping to give each a distinct identity. Paper cuttings, red knots, and couplets decorate homes in northern China to ward off evil spirits and bring luck to the family, while red envelopes filled with money remain popular. Head south and the paper cuttings are often replaced by pots of kumquat, which represent wealth and luck in harvest. Red envelopes are similarly shared, but with a superstitious tilt, as the amounts often a mirror a lucky number like 88, 666, or 999. The color palette is different too, as fresh flowers like daffodils and butterfly orchids are displayed.

A pair of Chinese couplets, Qigong mark

A pair of Chinese couplets, Qigong mark. Sold for $1,100 via Hotspot Auctions (October 2023)

Across the world, Chinese communities tend to celebrate Chinese New Year on the first weekend after Western New Year’s Day, as people work on New Year’s Day. Traditionally, Chinese New Year celebrations last until mid-January in the Chinese calendar, but wherever in the world it’s celebrated, the festivities mirror the unique traditions of different regions in China.

Contemporary Trends

Successfully blending traditional symbols and contemporary Western designs, modern interpretations and innovations in Chinese New Year decorations have helped to safeguard a cultural heritage that remains vibrant and relevant today. By incorporating new ideas, the festivities have evolved in places like New York City to include Western-infused performances, art workshops, and exhibitions that celebrate the festive spirit, while honoring the deep-rooted traditions of Chinese New Year.

Emerging trends have seen many Chinese youth buying prayer beads and traditional hanfu clothing, reflecting a growing interest in traditional Chinese culture and nationalism. The digital age has also brought its own changes. Blending tradition and technology, the emergence of AI couplets has modernized the ancient tradition, with the help of China’s leading search engine, Baidu. But, it’s art that has best exemplified the fusion of Western aesthetics with Eastern style, as shown by Ai Weiwei’s modern take on the traditional papercut.

Whatever the format though, and whatever the modern innovation, the message remains timeless, as the true art of Chinese New Year lies in its ability bring positive energy, reunite families, and spread hopeful intentions for the future, surrounded by ornate decorations in beguiling red. Xinnian Kuaile and Gong Hey Fat Choi to all who celebrate.


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