Let’s start with the palette! Regardless of the color and element of the symbol of the coming year, the Lunar Festival in China is still painted in red and gold.
This bright, jubilant combination can be found in the decoration of houses, the clothes of the Chinese going out for a festive procession, and in Europe – on especially elegant New Year trees.
Another symbol of the celebration is a round scarlet paper lantern. If you don’t have one at hand, any point source of light will do – from a night light to a dozen candles.
There are also symbolic inscriptions. Most often in China you can see the inverted hieroglyph “fu” (happiness). Its image is hung upside down, because the Chinese read the inverted “fu” as “happiness comes.” Such an Eastern linguistic joke!
On the front door of every house where traditions are honored, paired scrolls with the inscriptions “chun-lian” are hung. These are the names of two characters from an ancient legend: supposedly Shentu and Yulei, two guards, stand on the border between the earthly and heavenly worlds and do not let evil spirits onto the earth. A magical peach tree separates these two worlds, so it is customary to make plaques with the names of the defenders from this type of wood. But red silk will also work great!
Another interesting detail: the beginning of a new cycle in China is always celebrated at a richly laid table, on this day it is important to eat well. And a fish is considered a symbol of abundance and satiety in the Celestial Empire: these two words are even written using the same hieroglyph. Hence the many images of fish on signs and in houses.