Flowers for Asian Holidays: Lunar New Year, Tet and Diwali

Quick Answer

In Chinese tradition, Lunar New Year flowers are chosen for luck and prosperity: orchids, peonies, plum and peach blossom, kumquat trees and red or gold arrangements, while white flowers are traditionally avoided because of their link to mourning. Tet, the Vietnamese new year, centers on yellow mai blossom in the south and pink peach blossom in the north. In Hindu practice, Diwali flowers include marigold garlands, lotus offerings and petals for rangoli. The meaning of Asian flowers changes from one culture to the next, and these customs belong to specific families, so treat this guide as a description, not a rulebook, and ask the host when you are unsure.

Lunar New Year Flowers: What Is Traditional and What Is a Florist's Choice

Lunar New Year begins with a new moon in late January or February, according to Britannica. It is celebrated in several cultures, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean ones. The customs below are the ones most people mean by flowers for Chinese New Year. They are Chinese, mostly Cantonese and southern, and should not be assumed for other communities.

The South China Morning Post describes Hong Kong households decorating with plants and flowers for the festival and the flower fairs that open beforehand, and the Guangzhou government tourism page describes a peach blossom branch as a New Year purchase in that city. Cornell Botanic Gardens adds that plants are also given as gifts to convey happiness and good fortune. A Lunar New Year flower arrangement for a host is a florist's natural extension of that custom.

Lunar New Year flowers means:

• A Chinese New Year flower is usually a plant or bloom bought for the home before the festival, each tied to a wish in Chinese tradition
• Luck, wealth, longevity and a fresh start, usually carried by color and wordplay
• A tradition of displaying flowers at home during the festival, with details that vary by region and family

Best for:

• Anyone decorating a home for the New Year in the Chinese tradition
• Hosts and families who want flowers for Lunar New Year that fit the tradition
• Senders choosing Chinese New Year flowers who want to avoid a misstep

Here is what each flower is said to mean in Chinese tradition:

• Orchids. In Chinese tradition the orchid stands for refinement and abundance, according to the UBC Botanical Garden, and for nobility, according to Wellfield Gardens. It is one of the Four Gentlemen of Chinese painting, together with plum, bamboo and chrysanthemum. See our orchid flower meaning guide and orchids.
• Peonies. The peony stands for wealth and rank, according to Smithsonian Libraries. Cornell Botanic Gardens notes that red peonies are popular at the festival. Peonies are a spring bloom, so availability in winter varies. Read about peony flower meaning or browse peonies.
• Plum blossom. It blooms in winter and stands for perseverance and the return of spring, according to the Chinese Online Museum and The Met.
• Peach blossom. In Guangzhou a peach blossom branch or tree is bought for New Year, and it is one of the essential flowers at the city's flower fair. Folk belief links it to romance and success, according to the Guangzhou government tourism page.
• Kumquat and tangerine trees. Because in Cantonese the words for them sound like gold and luck, families buy these trees at New Year, according to the South China Morning Post, and Professor David Jordan of UC San Diego explains the gold pun.
• Pussy willow. Its Chinese name means silver willow, and in tradition the silvery catkins link it to silver and prosperity. Cornell Botanic Gardens and UBC read the buds as growth and coming prosperity.
• Narcissus. Called water fairy, it is grown in water and pebbles and is linked to good fortune and prosperity, according to Cornell Botanic Gardens.
• Chrysanthemums. They are tied to longevity, and also strongly to funerals in China, which leads to the next section.
  

Colors and What to Avoid at Lunar New Year

Red is the dominant color of the New Year, said to scare away the legendary monster Nian, according to Britannica, and Wikipedia links red with joy and luck. Gold suggests wealth.

Lunar New Year colors means:

• Red for joy and luck, gold for wealth
• In Chinese tradition, a warm palette with white and mourning colors avoided

Best for:

• Choosing an arrangement color for a New Year celebration
• Checking a gift before you send it
• Planning flowers for a household that keeps Chinese New Year customs

A few things are avoided, and each is a belief, so please read them as such:

• White and black. Wikipedia's article on Chinese New Year notes that white and black are avoided as gifts because of their link to funerals. An all-white arrangement is the clearest mistake. Our guide to funeral flower etiquette explains how white flowers are used in mourning.
• White chrysanthemums. Legacy.com describes white and yellow chrysanthemums as traditional funeral flowers in China, and Chinese Showcase advises never giving white chrysanthemums for celebrations. UBC and Cornell, however, describe yellow chrysanthemums as lucky and a gift for elders, so accounts differ and it would be wrong to call every chrysanthemum lucky or banned. If you want a chrysanthemum, ask the family or choose a clearly festive color.
• Four of anything. Because the Chinese word for four sounds like the word for death, four of anything is avoided, according to Chinese Showcase, which suggests six, eight or nine instead.

Tet Flowers: The Vietnamese New Year

Tet is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, and flowers are central to it. VietnamPlus describes families buying flowers and plants to decorate their houses, VOV describes flower markets that open across Ho Chi Minh City ahead of the holiday, and Vietnam News describes the Binh Dong Wharf flower fair there.

Tet flowers means:

• In Vietnamese tradition, blossoms and trees displayed at home to welcome the new year and spring
• A regional pair: yellow mai in the south, pink peach blossom in the north
• Wishes for luck, wealth and success

Best for:

• Vietnamese families and anyone welcoming a Tet host
• Choosing a regional touch if you know where the family comes from
• Senders choosing Tet flowers for a family visit

In southern Vietnam families display hoa mai, the yellow blossom of Ochna integerrima, which VietnamPlus describes as a symbol of Tet. It stands for luck, wealth and success. In northern Vietnam the pink peach blossom, hoa dao, is the traditional Tet flower, and VietnamPlus says folk belief holds that it wards off evil spirits. Kumquat trees heavy with fruit are displayed as a sign of prosperity, as VTV and VietnamPlus report, and chrysanthemum is read as longevity, according to Vietnam News.

Seollal in Brief: The Korean New Year

Seollal flowers means:

• In Korean tradition, a holiday centered on ritual and food, so flowers are a modern, optional gesture
• Food gift sets and family rites at the center of the day

Best for:

• Visitors to a Korean family at the New Year
• Readers who want the cultural background

Seollal, the Korean Lunar New Year, is built around the ancestral rite called charye, the deep bow to elders called sebae, rice cake soup called tteokguk, and hanbok, traditional clothing, according to Korea.net and the Korea Times.

The customs above do not center on flowers. If you want to bring flowers to a Korean family, treat it as a modern, optional gesture. Our flowers in a vase arrive ready to place on a table.

Diwali Flowers: Marigolds, Garlands and Gifts

Diwali, the festival of lights, is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists, as Kew Gardens notes. It follows the lunisolar calendar and falls between mid-October and mid-November. The flower customs below come mainly from Hindu practice.

Diwali flowers means:

• In Hindu practice, marigold garlands, lotus offerings and petals used for decoration and worship
• A bright, fresh, long-lasting look for a home
• Welcome decor for a host, with sweets as the more traditional gift

Best for:

• Hosts decorating for Diwali
• Guests bringing flowers to a celebration
• Anyone planning a Diwali flower decoration at home

Marigold is among the flowers the Society of American Florists lists for Diwali decorations, often strung together and hung around the house, and Kew Gardens associates the marigold with good fortune. Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and wealth, is shown on or holding a lotus, and many Hindus worship her on Diwali night, offering the lotus as her favored flower, as Religion Unplugged and Kew Gardens describe. Rangoli, floor designs drawn at the doorway with rice flour, is made to welcome good fortune, according to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and a CNN Underscored contributor describes rangoli made with flowers and diyas. For a decoration at home, a marigold garland or a bowl of petals follows that tradition. See our guide to marigold flower meaning.

The Society of American Florists names roses among the Diwali flowers commonly used in the United States, and Kew Gardens notes that jasmine is often used for Diwali and in Hindu ceremonies. Browse roses for a rich red option.

On gifts, CNN Underscored quotes a jeweler who lists gold, dried fruit and sweets as traditional Diwali gifts, and notes that diyas are commonly gifted. Flowers are a welcome addition, especially as decor for a host, but they are not the traditional Diwali gifts themselves. The Society of American Florists notes that some traditional Indian Diwali flowers can be hard to find in the United States, and lists marigolds, roses, carnations and chrysanthemums among the flowers commonly used here. It also advises that arrangements last at least a week, because wilted flowers are considered inauspicious. No single rule about flowers to avoid applies to every home, and offering customs vary by deity and household, so ask the host if you are unsure.