Chinese New Year Decorations

Chinese New Year Cards

This Chinese New Year's Day, spend some time in decorating your home to give it a fresh look, and make a new beginning as you welcome the year of the dragon. Here is an overview of what Chinese New Year decorations you can use.

Ideas for Chinese New Year Decoration

Symbolic decorations: It is a tradition to adorn the houses with blooming plants and flowers that are a symbol of growth and prosperity. The flowers used widely

during this occasion are plum blossoms which are arranged with bamboo and pine springs. This reflects the family gatherings that are organized on such occasions. The bamboo is the symbol of compatibility between two or more people.

Evergreen pine plants are also used for decorations, as they symbolize longevity. You can use plants like water lily, peony, and azalea to give your home a completely different look.

Tray of togetherness: A special highlight of the Chinese New Year decorations is the candy tray. This is actually known as the tray of togetherness and it includes a variety of sweet treats and candies symbolizing good relationships between family members. The items placed in the tray and the things that they symbolize are:

Candied melon - Good health and growth
Lychee nut - Strong family relationships
Cumquat - Prosperity (gold)
Red melon seed - Dyed red to symbolize happiness, truth, and sincerity
Lotus seed - Many children
Peanuts - Long life
Coconut - Togetherness

These items are arranged in the tray in an octagon or a circle. This is followed by the family members placing a red envelope with a gift of money at the center of the tray. This gift is known as "Lai See".

Using fresh fruits: Oranges and tangerines are used for home decor on Chinese New Year, as these are considered to be a sign of abundant happiness.

The tangerines with their leaves symbolize strong family ties and bonding.

Adorn your home with animal figures: Every New Year in the Chinese calendar is symbolized by an animal figure. So, Chinese New Year decorations often include animal figures for adorning the houses. For example, 2012 being the year of dragon, you can use joint dragons to adorn the walls. Alternatively, you can choose Chinese dragon dance decorations with accordion bodies and colorful cutout heads.

You can use dragon shaped danglers which feature a golden dragon and some Chinese characters meaning "Year of the dragon". These danglers can be hung along the hallway or close to the entryway.

Chinese lanterns: You can choose Chinese lanterns made of bright red and golden paper that's adorned with fabric tassels.

This can serve as a fantastic piece of decoration for the ceilings. Classic accordion style lanterns in red and yellow, with printed Asian flowers and string tassels, are a popular choice for Chinese New Year decorations. Red and golden colors are considered as auspicious by the Chinese and they feel that these colors bring good luck and prosperity to one's life.

Table decorations: Red colored table cloth, and golden napkins and plates serve as the perfect items to give a festive look to your table. You can use a dragon figurine made of bold red and golden colors as the table centerpiece.

As an alternative, you can go for a centerpiece with shiny metallic cutouts in red and golden colors. The Chinese characters of health, wealth, good luck, happiness, and longevity are often printed on these cutouts. These centerpieces often have a golden string attached at its top so that they can be hung over the table.

This is how you can adorn your home and set the mood for the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Chinese New Year Wallpapers

Get free Chinese New Year wallpapers and Send beautiful Chinese New Year cards to your near and dear ones. Celebrate Chinese New Year 2012 festival with huge fun and enjoyment. Stay glued to 123 Chinese New Year to explore all these and know much more...