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Posting the "福" character is a tradition for Chinese people during 春节 [chūn-jié] Spring Festival each year. The "福" character is often posted upside-down. It is said that this is because the character for "upside-down", "倒" [dào] , is a homonym of the character for "to arrive", "到" [dào] . When displayed as a Chinese ideograph, fu is often displayed upside-down on diagonal red squares. The reasoning is based on a wordplay: in nearly all varieties of Chinese, the words for 倒; dào; 'upside-down' and 到; dào; 'to arrive' are homophonous. Therefore, the phrase 'upside-down fu' sounds nearly identical to the phrase 'good luck arrives'. If you are placing this Fu character upside down at your main door, does it resemble chasing the good fortune away instead? Hence, if you have displayed this inverted Fu Chinese character at your main entrance for the past years, it is time to put it upright from this year onwards. Legends, such as a family accidentally hanging "Fu" upside down and receiving good fortune, reinforce the practice's significance. The character's upside-down placement enhances festive decor and is widely recognized in various cultures, especially during Chinese New Year celebrations. The Chinese character Fu (福) means happiness, blessing, and good fortune. People across China have the tradition to paste this character on their doors or windows during the Spring Festival to greet the Chinese Lunar New Year (which falls on February 5 this year). Now whenever visitors came to their house during the Chinese New Year and say that the Fu sign was placed upside down, they commented: “Your Fu is upside down”. However, the words for “to arrive” and “upside down” are almost homophonous. Renewing Fu every year: Some families believe the Fu character should be replaced annually. Since the Chinese New Year marks a fresh start, it is customary to remove the previous year’s Fu and replace it with a new one to ensure continuous good luck and blessings throughout the year ahead. It became a tradition for the Qing Emperors to give a personally painted ‘Fu’ character as a gift to visiting embassies and delegations. Fu character Good fortune descends from above. Fu is widely seen on Chinese New Year posters. In many cases the poster is deliberately hung upside down. Fu is one of the most popular Chinese characters used during Chinese New Year. It is often posted upside down on the front door of a dwelling. The upside-down character fu means “good luck came,” since the character representing “upside down” in Chinese sounds the same as “good luck has come.” Pasting the "Fu" Character Upside Down: During the New Year, many people paste the "Fu" character upside down, implying that "Fu" has arrived (as the word for "upside down" sounds like "arrive" in Chinese). Upside down Good Fortune signs are very similar to Chinese New Year Couplets and are made with red paper for the background and bright gold or black paper for the Chinese character which is carefully cut out to create a beautiful design which has a big red diamond (not a diamond as you would see on a ring but a square which is turned 45 degrees A 福 (fu) character is a indispensable decoration item for every Chinese family's New Year decoration.Fu (福) means good fortune, blessing, and happiness. You will see that many Chinese people put their 福 (fu) upside down, no matter whether on the doors or on the windows. There are thousands of different types of New Year crafts in different parts of China. The most popular items include: Upside Down Fu. The most popular of the Chinese New Year crafts is the upside-down character of "Fu." "Fu" in Chinese means luck, happiness, and prosperity. When it is upside down, it means "coming." Introduce a unique Chinese tradition for the Spring Festival, know about the origin and a nursery rhyme on pasting Fu upside down, and then take a quiz. Toll Free - U.S.& Canada： 1-800-791-9386 Stories of Chinese New Year including the legend of Nian, the legend of why Spring Couplets and Door Gods are pasted, the Legend of why Chinese people paste upside down Fu and the legend of red envelopes. An interesting aspect of this tradition is the practice of hanging the character 福 (fú), meaning fortune or happiness, upside down. This practice is based on a wordplay, where the word for 'upside down' (倒, dào) is a homophone for 'to arrive' (到, dào) in Mandarin. Hence, an upside-down 福 symbolizes the arrival of good fortune. The Fu character (福) is one of the most common Chinese New Year symbols. It represents good fortune, blessings, and happiness. This character is often displayed on red paper and hung upside down on doors or walls. As the Lunar New Year approaches — this year on Feb. 12 — families in China often decorate their front doors with an upside-down 'fu' symbol. 'Fu' means luck, and this tradition is all about As Chinese New Year approaches, many may notice this word displayed on festive decorations: 福 (fú). It’s the Chinese word for prosperity or blessing. Sometimes it may appear upside down too! Why? Because in Chinese, “prosperity upside-down” (福倒, fú dào) sounds like “prosperity arrives” (福到, also fú dào). When displayed as a Chinese ideograph, fu is often displayed upside-down on diagonal red squares. The reasoning is based on a wordplay: in nearly all varieties of Chinese, the words for 倒; dào; ' upside-down ' and 到; dào; ' to arrive ' are homophonous. Therefore, the phrase 'upside-down fu ' sounds nearly identical to the phrase 'good
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