In Chinese culture, the character Fu means good luck and happiness. On oracle bone carvings, the character looks like two hands placing a jar onto an altar. As the hands are offering wine to the Gods in order to please them and avail their blessing, the character had the meaning of blessing.
As early as more than 600 years ago in the Ming Dynasty, a large Fu character could often be found at the entrances of houses with the meaning that the symbol would bring continuous flow of good luck through doors.
Traditionally, the character was written in black ink on red diamond-shaped paper and was fixed with the upside down. An inverted fu symbol means good luck has arrived as the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for arrival.
Even in today’s modern times, this symbol is till pretty much part of the Chinese culture. It can be frequently seen hung around the entrances of homes and shops during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
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#1 by Pharmb878 on August 6, 2010 - 12:04 pm
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#2 by sharon on August 7, 2010 - 2:24 am
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