The upcoming Chinese New Year sees decorations festooned at houses and establishments to commemorate the coming festivity. You see auspicious red everywhere, but what are the meanings and what exactly are these important decorations?
Decorations that hold special meaning
Around the world, people of Chinese descent are getting ready for the coming Lunar New Year as houses begin to see streaks of red decorations, while shops have begun a tsunami of red ornaments. Songs with the phrase “Gong Xi Fatt Chai” can be heard from every nook and cranny to mark the upcoming festivity.
This year, the Chinese New Year will fall on January 22 and continues for up to 14 days. The sight of the traditional lion dance performance will be plentiful, symbolising hope for peace and prosperity.
According to the book “Chinese Auspicious Culture” published by Asiapac Books Singapore, the ancient Chinese consider this day an exceptionally auspicious day; therefore, it is a day for prayers, hopes, and wishes.
One yearly activity that the Chinese engage in is spring cleaning in order to make way for new abundance. And once the house is clean, in comes the red — the auspicious colour — into the homes of many, signifying hope from these merrymakers for another year filled with prosperity.
Based on a survey done on popular Facebook group “Kuching — Then and Now”, a large majority of participants said that they would decorate their houses with lanterns. This is followed by placing certain symbolic vegetables and fruits around the house to usher in abundance and good health.
CNY decorations bestsellers
At many religious goods and decoration stores in Kuching, seas of red can be seen decorating the vicinity as the businesses get ready for the festive season. Lanterns of many sorts — big or small, plain or with characters, will fill the air. The surge of red is also extended at eye level as an array of decorative pieces floods the establishments. Ornaments, red packets and banners in Chinese characters, many would flock the stores in hopes to decorate their houses with reds.
It is no different at the Jalan Kempas’ “688 Hot Market” branch as the religious goods store introduces the latest trends in Chinese New Year goods as well as old-style decorations. Speaking to the store’s manager, Teo Seng Kai, he shared that the store aims to offer a variety of trendy decorative pieces without forgetting their true roots.
Teo explained that among the bestsellers this season are the selections of “Zhao Cai Mao”, or in English, the fortune cat. “It acts as a lucky charm that attracts fortune. Naturally, most people would buy this for their home or for those starting a new business.”
The shop sells two types of fortune cats. Teo said that for this year, they brought in a cuter version of it, which managed to attract a lot of buyers. “Some of the cats are even accompanied by a ring light so they can shine bright. Nonetheless, there are still those who opt for the older versions which are gold in colour. The old ones existed since 20 years ago,” Teo said.
He also revealed that lanterns are also one of the store’s bestsellers. Like the cats, 688 store offers two variations of the lanterns — an older version and the latest one. “Both are cloth lanterns, but the newer ones are thicker and more durable. There are also more designs.”
Just by the lanterns, strings of ornaments hung in the area. A variety of decorative pieces such as firecrackers, mini lanterns and the auspicious Chinese character “Fu”. The character is a decorative piece that means happiness, blessing and good fortune. Many would hang the letter upside down, which signifies that good fortune has arrived from above.
688 also offers well-wish banners which write “Gong Xi Fa Cai” (May you be happy and prosperous); “Da Ji Da Li” (May you have great luck and great profit); Nian Nian You Yu (Wishing you abundance and prosperity every year), and these are just some of the wishes. Teo shared that these banners are among the bestsellers, too.
Vegetables and fruits as decorative pieces
Each year, my mother-in-law emphasises the importance of the coming new year. Her favourite phrase was, “If we don’t do this, Chai Sen Yeh (Fortune God) will not come and visit us.” Much like the participants in the “Kuching — Then and Now” survey on Facebook, she feels the need to decorate the house with symbolic fruits and vegetables.
Prior to the festive day, we would visit the grocer to pick up several items such as leeks, oranges, pomelo and pineapples. Though many other fruits and vegetables can be displayed to usher in prosperity and good health, these four are among those that my mother-in-law would always get.
Leek is known as “suan” in the Chinese language. In the Hokkien dialect, “suan” means to count. It is commonly served in dishes during the festivity. However, my mother-in-law would hang it on the kitchen cupboard to symbolise always having an abundance of food.
Around the house, there would be an auspicious number of oranges — either eight or 12 — displayed. Oranges in the Chinese language are called “kam”, which is similar to the word gold. Thus why every Chinese person, not only my mother-in-law, would have them as decorations. This is said to be able to bring riches for the coming months.
Meanwhile, a huge pomelo is normally seated on the family’s altar. In Chinese, pomelo is translated to “youzi” — abundance, prosperity, having children, good health and family unity. This fruit is also an important element of the Chinese “Yee Sang” as it symbolises “da ji da li” — wishing you good luck and good profits.
Besides the pomelo, a pineapple perches alongside. This is one of the most popular must-have fruits to decorate most Hokkien homes, either as an ornament or as the real thing. In the dialect, the pineapple is translated to “ong lai” which also means the incoming of luck.
Overall, the Chinese are very particular when they want a prosperous year ahead. Thus, the upcoming Lunar New Year is an important event as it brings hopes of prosperity and abundance.
