Lunar New Year is a time to celebrate with family and friends, enjoy delicious food, say hello to a new year, and bring some good luck into one’s life. We celebrate differently it around the world, with countries like China, Vietnam and Korea bringing their own traditions to this holiday. But, from country to country, one thing that remains relatively constant is the fact that people decorate their homes and businesses in honor of this holiday. We’ve put together several Lunar New Year decoration ideas that you can buy on Amazon or Etsy. Some of them can even be DIY projects if you’re feeling in the DIY mood.
But before you put up the lanterns and door hangers, you’ll want to get your space in order. Alyssa Chiang, co-founder of Lotus Magazine, shared some insight into how her Taiwanese family observes the holiday. “Before decorating, it’s important to note that it’s not just about decorating - it’s also about bringing in the new and letting go of the old, so it’s just as important to make sure you clean the house first.”
This year, we will celebrate the Lunar New Year on January 22, 2023. Read on to learn more about the Chinese zodiac, Lunar New Year decorations and how they will bring you luck this year.
1. Red lanterns
Chiang explains we place red lanterns around the Lunar New Year to ward off bad luck. “The decorations are traditionally red because red symbolizes good fortune,” she says.
Buy: Red lanterns
2. Red firecrackers
“They put the red firecrackers up because, according to legend, they are used to scaring away the spirit that terrorizes villages during the Lunar New Year,” Chiang explains.
Buy: Red firecrackers
3. Paper cutting
“The 福 (fú; fortune) is usually seen in calligraphy on red paper squares or red paper cutouts,” Chiang explains. “We set it up so that the character is upside down, because the word for ‘upside down’ is a homophone of the word 到 (dào; to arrive). It is a symbol of fortune in the new year.”
You can buy ready-made decorations, or take paper and a calligraphy pen to create your own Lunar New Year art.
Buy: Paper cutting
4. Goldfish
Kathryn Read, whose company helps companies expand in Asia, shared that a meaningful decoration for Lunar New Year could be a goldfish or a fish-shaped lantern. In Mandarin, the word “fish” is a homonym for “surplus,” she explained.
Buy: Goldfish
5. The Chinese Knot
We can hang these decorative knots as part of your Lunar New Year decoration. They symbolize good luck.
Buy: The Chinese Knot
6. Bunnies
This year, you may notice bunnies in your Lunar New Year decorations. As you may have guessed, this is because 2023 is the year of the rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. And that’s good news for all of us! The rabbit is the luckiest of the twelve animals, and it symbolizes mercy, elegance, and beauty.
Buy: Bunnies
