The way the inhabitants of the country China celebrate the bright holiday of the New Year is filled with symbolism and myths. Thus, the traditional red color of clothing scares away evil spirits and bad luck. Symbolic fruits in homes and offices - tangerines and oranges - are another auspicious sign associated with happiness and prosperity. Figures of animals of the Chinese zodiac are also of particular importance at this time. Flowers symbolize new growth after a long winter, and when flowering begins, it signifies life and good luck. Flowers will turn into fruits - another symbol of luck. Therefore, the absence of flowers during the celebration means an unfavorable year.
There are many flowers revered as auspicious symbols during this festival. However, it is the plum blossom and the daffodil that are the most popular symbols of prosperity.
Unlike its similarity - cherry blossom, whose season is mid-spring, the plum blossom blooms even in cold winter on a branch that seems lifeless, which for the Chinese means hope and courage. This is a very important symbol of the New Year's celebration in China.
Appearing before the leaves, the flowers of late winter will fill the air with aroma, decorate the plum branches with a bright color. The plum blossom is courage, beauty, hope, purity and prosperity. Cut flowering plum branches are placed in vases to decorate the New Year's table - for a fruitful and good year.
The plum blossom is present in Chinese poetry, painting, dances and is associated with the beginning of spring in Japan and China.
Plum flowers come in different colors: red, pink, white and yellow. But the decoration of the Chinese New Year is flowers of all shades of red.
The second important flower symbol of the Chinese New Year is the daffodil, symbolizing good fortune, prosperity and fortune. They grow it right in the water. In this case, a variety of white is used, which does not require a period of winter cold before the beginning of the awakening of the bulb.
The Chinese believe that if the daffodil blooms exactly on the New Year, then this is a very auspicious sign for the next twelve months.
Another reason for the popularity of daffodil is its pleasant scent.
The inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom have developed a unique method of growing daffodils, thanks to which the leaves and stems are not straight, but of different shapes and sizes. This method has been used for about a thousand years, and it has become popular in other countries of the world.
Masters of their craft cut the flower bulbs in such a way that the green parts of the plant grow not straight, but curved. After cutting, the bulbs are immersed in water "upside down" for five days, and then turned over and again immersed in water at a shallow depth, surrounded by pebbles. After about a month, flowers appear.
