The Chinese Lunar New Year is a time of renewal, celebration, and traditions. When it’s the Year of the Snake, the energy shifts to focus on wisdom, transformation, and elegance. Bringing these qualities into your home is a beautiful way to honour the occasion and invite good fortune for the year ahead.
Here’s how to welcome the Year of the Snake into your home with meaningful traditions, decorations, and celebrations.
1. Start with a fresh slate
The first step to welcoming the Lunar New Year is to thoroughly clean your home before the celebrations begin. Dust away the misfortunes of the past year and make space for new opportunities.
Key tip: avoid cleaning on New Year’s Day itself, as it’s believed this could sweep away your luck for the year.
2. Decorate with the Snake in mind
In Chinese culture, the snake symbolises wisdom, intuition, and grace. Use these themes to inspire your décor:
- Incorporate red and gold, traditional New Year colours for luck and prosperity, along with green and black to represent the snake’s connection to nature and transformation.
- Add subtle snake-inspired patterns or artwork to highlight the zodiac animal of the year.
- Display fresh blooms like plum blossoms, orchids, or peonies, which symbolise renewal, prosperity, and good fortune.
3. Create a festive dining table
The heart of Lunar New Year celebrations is a feast shared with loved ones. Prepare your dining table with symbolic foods that bring luck and abundance:
Noodles: Represent long life and longevity, serve them uncut to preserve the symbolism.
Whole Fish: Signifying abundance and surplus. The word for “fish” (yú) sounds like “extra” or “surplus” in Chinese.
Dumplings: Their shape resembles gold ingots and symbolises wealth.
Fruits: Oranges and tangerines are a must, representing wealth and good fortune.
Decorate the table with red placemats, gold accents, and candles to create a warm and auspicious atmosphere.
4. Bring in the light
Brighten your home with lanterns or fairy lights to symbolise prosperity and joy. Paper lanterns in red or gold can be hung in doorways or on balconies to ward off bad spirits and guide good luck into your home.
5. Share good fortune with red envelopes
Traditionally, red envelopes (hongbao) filled with money are given to children or unmarried relatives as a blessing for prosperity in the coming year. For your home, place red envelopes in key areas like a bowl at your entryway to symbolically welcome wealth and abundance.
6. Honour the Snake’s energy
The snake is associated with wisdom, calmness, and transformation. Invite these qualities into your home and life:
Mindful Spaces: Dedicate a corner of your home to quiet reflection. Add a cosy chair, soft lighting, and calming scents like sandalwood or jasmine.
Decorative Themes: Use flowing patterns, snake-inspired shapes, or serpentine curves in your interior décor to echo the snake’s grace.
7. Host a reunion dinner
Lunar New Year is about family, so hosting a reunion dinner is one of the most important traditions. Keep the gathering warm and joyful, and encourage everyone to share their hopes for the year ahead.
8. Set intentions for the year ahead
The Year of the Snake is the perfect time for introspection and goal setting. Gather your family to write down intentions for the year ahead and place them in a decorative jar or box. Display it in your home as a symbol of hope and focus.
9. Avoid common taboos
To keep your home’s energy positive, avoid these common Lunar New Year taboos:
No cleaning on New Year’s Day: This could sweep away good luck.
Don’t use sharp objects: Avoid knives and scissors on the day, as they’re believed to “cut” your luck.
Refrain from negative words: Avoid speaking of bad luck, illness, or death during the celebrations.
10. Attend to your home’s entryway
Your front door is where luck enters your home, so make it inviting:
- Add a red or gold decoration, such as a door banner or couplets with blessings.
- Place oranges or tangerines in a bowl near the entrance to symbolise wealth and positivity.
Welcome the New Year with joy
Celebrating the Lunar New Year is as much about the energy you create as it is about the traditions you follow. By embracing the qualities of the snake (wisdom, intuition, and transformation) and incorporating festive decorations, delicious food, and meaningful customs, you can create a home that’s filled with luck and happiness for the year ahead.
Here’s to a prosperous Year of the Snake!
