The Lunar New Year & its colors

Happy Lunar New Year! On February 1, billions of people, not limited to just Greater China, most Asians worldwide, will be celebrating the Lunar New Year. It marks the start of a new lunar cycle, the beginning of Spring, and, more importantly, a fresh start for all those who want to say goodbye to misfortune in the past year!

According to Chinese tales, a beast called "Nian" devours crops, livestock, humans, even children on New Year's Eve. The god wanted to help the suffering humanity. So he told the people that the monster's weakness was afraid of red, noise, and fire. To fight the beast, people wore red clothes and all house decorations in red, such as lanterns, couplets, and paper-cuttings. They were beating gongs and drums. Set off firecrackers. Finally, people won. Till now, they still do so to celebrate their victory.

During the Chinese Lunar New Year, the auspicious colors red and gold are all around! Red is good fortune and scares away evil spirits. Gold is wealth. Then, please try to avoid white and black during this festival, which are unlucky colors associated with mourning and death.

Red is the Chinese cultural color and the Chinese People's primary celebratory color, indicating good luck, happiness, vitality, hope, passion, and prosperity. According to the Chinese Five Elements Theory, colors are associated with the five elements of wood, fire, water, metal, and earth. Red represents fire.

Like other cultures globally, colors play a significant role in Chinese culture. They represent various values and qualities formed thousands of years ago and have preserved their significance over generations. Often, these colors help us connect with our circumstances, society, and living life.

What's the color of your nation or culture?