The Origin of 福 (“Blessings”)

During the Chinese New Year season, the Chinese character “福” (pronounced as “fu“) is found on decorations and inscribed on hongbao (“红包”) or red packets. The word signifies blessings and prosperity and is considered most appropriate for the annual lunar new year celebrations (also known as chunjie (“春节“) or Spring Festival). As those of Chinese descent usher in a new year, words of blessings are exchanged among family and friends. This is often accompanied by new year goodies, exchanges of mandarin oranges, and giving of red packets of cash (or increasingly digital tokens of money). The character “福” may also be displayed in an upside down manner to symbolize the arrival of blessings (the Chinese word for “upside down” [“倒“] sounds like the word for “arrival” [“到“]).

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