Inspired Tablescaping for Chinese New Year
With the Year of the Water Tiger looming on the horizon, we give you a few ideas with which to bring the celebratory spirit of the occasion into your home.
The Lunar Year of the Water Tiger will be upon us by February first, so many families of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese descent are making preparations for a feast at home.
While the Lunar New Year is an event whose accoutrements are often dictated by tradition and custom, the cultural melting pot we currently live in has enabled many families to add elegant nuances inspired by Western culture and practice.
For the Year of the Water Tiger, a year that many say will be filled with changes, we offer the following design suggestions to bring a welcome change to your festive table.
Gold Goes with Other Colors
Traditionally, red and gold are the classic colors for the Chinese New Year, as the former is a most auspicious color that brings in good fortune for the coming year and the latter represents prosperity. As the Lunar New Year marks the transition from the dead of winter to the birth of spring, green is a reasonable alternative to red. But we suggest that you steer clear of darker shades like moss and pine in your holiday decorating. More brilliant shades like emerald and grass are more festive and would be beautiful for tablecloths or for complimentary greenery for centerpieces and other floral decorations. However, if you must have that bit of red, we would go for a darker, more austere, yet nuanced shade like that of our Bordeaux Mini Lacquer Tray: it is perfect for traditional offerings for a family shrine as well as for bringing a savory selection of treats for visiting family members or friends.
Festive flowers for your Chinese New Year Table
A Touch of Gold Goes a Long Way
While we appreciate the message of prosperity that golden accents bring, having so much gold visually tends to border on the gaudy and outré. In which case, taking a more subtle approach to grandeur would make for a more tasteful tablescape. Rather than presenting large traditional pieces like ingots or gold-plated figurines at the dining table, give your guests an elegant yet still sumptuous experience with dinnerware and linens that are accented with actual gold rather than being merely gilded or gold-painted. Our L’Impératrice Dinnerware Sets with their hand-applied edges of fine gold are an excellent choice, especially when paired with our stunning Sparkle Table Linen Set which are exquisitely embroidered with gold thread.
Sparkle Table Linen Set consisting of tablemats and napkins; hand-embroidered in gold
L’Impératrice Dinner Set from Limoges, France
Break Out the Silver and Crystal for Stunning Centerpieces
Normally, the selection of round fruits served or presented during the Lunar New Year comes in wooden or wicker baskets. But these would be equally lovely to look at if presented in a silver salver or tray or a clear glass bowl or trough which will enable guests to appreciate their shape and colors. While apples and oranges are common, be sure to amp up the opulence for the occasion with equally auspicious fruits like lychees and peaches (fertility and fecundity), persimmons (good fortune in general), longans, and fragrant round Oriental pears.
Likewise, while yu sheng - fresh fish salad which is tossed communally to signify a call for good fortune - is normally served in large round porcelain platters, using a glass platter or tray to serve it would enable those dining at your table to feast their eyes on the excellent ingredients before the joyous frenzy of tossing them.
Auspicious fruits for your Chinese New Year celebration
