The traditional customs of Chinese New Year celebration are composed of various symbols. In this article you can check the list of the symbols and get a overview.
1. Colors
Red is the main color for Chinese New Year decoration. Red symbolizes: hot, happy, victory, up and celebration.
Golden symbolizes richness. The flowers and decorations in golden color are popular in Chinese New Year.
White is not always an auspicious color in Chinese tradition, but some Chinese New Year food are white, because Chinese think white food symbolize silver, which means richness or money.
2. Form
Round form symbolizes perfection, happy end and reunion. Things in round form are thought as necessary in Chinese New Year celebration. The most common things in round form are Chinese New Year food Tang Yuan and lantern.
3. Language
People are expected to speak auspicious words in Chinese New Year. The homophones of these words are also popular. Unauspicious words and their homophnes are taboos in Chinese New Year.
4. Behavior
People's behavior and rituals carrry also many symbolized meaning. One example is that the things used in Chinese New Year must be as good as possible, because good things symbolize good life quality. Breaking, borrowing money, being dirty, and other negative things or behaviors must be avoided as much as possible, because the negative things symbolize negative impacts to the new year.
5. Ritual
Some food with good auspicious meanings must appear on the food table for Chinese New Year's eve. The examples of such food are: fish and sweet soup. Fish symbolizes surplus. Sweet soup symbolize sweet life.