Chinese New Year is the biggest celebration in China. There are many customs and traditions, and some of these traditions are related to decorations of houses. Here we list 10 decoration ideas which will bring you the best wishes and good luck in the coming new year.
Table of contents
01. Door Couplets
A door couplet is a pair of lines of poetry which people write on the red paper, and then paste on the sides of doors and windows during the Chinese New Year.
The door couplet must adhere to certain rules such as both lines having the same number of Chinese characters etc. The door couplet is the way to express wishes for prosperity, good fortune, good health and good luck in the coming year.
There is always a horizontal line together with the door couplets which is usually pasted above the door.
02. Fu Character
The Chinese character "Fu (福)" means "blessing" or "good fortune" in English, and it is written on a diamond-shaped piece of red paper as one of the main decorations during the new year. People usually put them on or above the doors or windows.
Many people may place the character upside down and wish the blessing and good fortune to come to the house because the word "upside down" has the same sound as another Chinese character "dao (到)" which means "coming" in English.
03. Red Lanterns
The red lanterns are popular decorations in the festivals like Chinese New Year and Mid-autumn Festival. People hang them in the markets, streets and parks to make the festival happy atmosphere.
During the Chinese New Year, people also hang red lanterns in the yard or house to wish good luck and good fortune, also to get rid of any bad luck in the new year.
04. Paper Cuttings
The paper cutting is the art of paper designs with thousand of years' history in China. During the new year, people use a piece of red paper and cut it into the unique designs such as Chinese characters, flowers and animals. People usually hang them on the window as the decorations and many of them are related to wishes of the good luck and good fortunate in the new year.
05. Paintings
Decorating houses with paintings is a tradition lasting hundreds of years in China. People hang paintings and images on the wall inside the house to have the festival atmosphere. Most of these paintings are from stories, folk tales and Chinese mythology with the symbolic meanings of being rich, fortune and best luck in the new year.
06. Chinese knots
The Chinese knot is a decorative handcraft art made of red strings for decoration purposes. Each knot is knotted from a single long string and the repetitive pattern seems endless. People usually hang them on the door during the festival to wish for the good luck and good fortune.
07. Firecrackers
People light firecrackers during the middle night of the New Year Eve as a tradition for hundreds of years, and as one of the main symbols of the festival, people also make simulation firecrackers and hang them in the house for decorations.
08. Zodiac Symbols
In Chinese calendar, each year is assigned a zodiac sign in a 12-year cycle. There are 12 zodiac signs which are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, and they are very popular in China. People make toys with zodiac signs and hang them in the house for decorations.
09. Plants
Other than the traditional decorations, people also buy plants like kumquat trees, lucky bamboo, money tree as decorations during the festival. These plants have a common character that the names have the same sounds as some Chinese characters that mean good luck or good fortune.
10. Flowers
Flowers are ideal decorations that people usually buy during the Chinese New Year. There are many options, but winter jasmine and butterfly orchid are always good choices, not only because of their beauty, but also because of the symbolism of spring, good luck and new life.
