Important Symbols of the Chinese New Year

We will celebrate the Chinese New Year next week! The most important holiday and celebration for Chinese people. Chinese New Year really identic with some stuff, for example, lanterns, fireworks, Chinese Zodiacs, and many more.

Today we want to go deeper about Chinese New Year’s important symbols. Their meanings and of course history of the symbols! It’s unique and totally worth knowing 😉

Red Color

In China, the importance of the color red is linked to a beast called a “Nián (年)” which is said to have terrorized a village in ancient China on the first day of every New Year. The villagers realized that Nián is afraid of the color of Red. So they begin to decorate their house with something Red!

Besides that, Red is known to bring Luck and Happiness. The color of Red becomes really important for the Chinese!

Lion and Dragon Dance

Still the same folklore story as before, the villagers found out that Nián was afraid of loud noises too! So they make a Lion Dance and Dragon Dance with loud drums music to scare away evil spirits. Up until now, it become a tradition. Even in Indonesia, we often see it too! Usually, we called it Barongsai 😄

Red Envelopes (Hong Bao)

During Chinese New Year, it is a common practice for elders to give them to kids and young adults. The symbol of it is to wish good luck for the new year. Interestingly, the practice’s roots are related to fending off evil spirits and protecting the children, as opposed to merely blessing them with good luck.

Fú Characters

Fú (福)” character, which means good fortune in Chinese. A square of red paper adorned with the Fú character is pasted to the outer side of the door to one’s home, and sometimes the character is also used to adorn interior doors.

Lanterns

Chinese New Year’s lanterns are always red in color and are almost always round or oval in shape. They can be made out of either paper or cloth, and are usually decorated with black or gold calligraphy, and sometimes with other prosperous symbols.

Yellow Color

Yellow is traditionally the symbol of the Chinese Emperor. While yellow is often viewed as a symbol of cowardice in Western societies, this bias does not exist in China as the color is a symbol of heroism. In China, the color yellow is also seen as symbolizing good luck.