Lunar New Year: Gifts for the Year of the Snake
Celebrate the serpent with these Lunar New Year offerings
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Lunar New Year: Gifts for the Year of the Snake
Celebrate the serpent with these Lunar New Year offerings
Feasting, fireworks and family get-togethers: Lunar New Year is a time for looking ahead with hopes for success, health and happiness. It’s also a time for gift-giving, ideally things that symbolize luck, abundance and prosperity. Here are a few ideas to celebrate this year’s festivities.
Something Red
Red is the colour associated with Lunar New Year, and it carries many symbolic meanings. As the colour of vitality, it represents good luck, prosperity and happiness, and wards off misfortune in the year ahead. Legend has it that it also served to scare off the Beast of Nian, an ancient creature who would terrorise villages on the last day of the Lunar New Year. Red is also the colour of hóngbāo, the traditional red envelopes gifted on Lunar New Year, signalling good luck and blessings. A bit like Liberty’s red Iphis pouch.
Something Citrussy
Another colour you’ll see a lot of during Lunar New Year is orange - the fruit, specifically. Mandarin oranges are associated with luck and prosperity, partly because their pronunciation in Mandarin sounds like the word for “good luck”, whilst in Cantonese the word is the same as “gold”. It’s traditional to give these fruits in pairs, as odd numbers are thought to be back luck. Celebrate these orange delicacies with citrus-inspired gifts, like a bottle of Liberty Maze, the Liberty LBTY. fragrance inspired by a classic 1970s Liberty print bearing clusters of blossom and citrus fruits.
Something Serpentine
This year welcomes the Year of the Snake, a Chinese astrology sign layered with symbolism. These mysterious creatures are often associated with wisdom and intelligence, qualities shared by people born in this year (the Zodiac repeats every 12 years, so those born in 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977 and 1965 are also born under the snake Zodiac). The snake also represents transformation, making it a particularly auspicious symbol for a new year. Anya Hindmarch’s snake journal is a perfect embodiment of all these qualities - use it to write down your goals for the next year, and keep track of your progress.
Something Delicious
Like most festivities around the world, Lunar New Year celebrations often centre around food and drink. In the spirit of abundance, your table should be groaning with delicious treats to share with family and friends. These also make great gifts, whether that’s decadent all-butter biscuits, a Liberty print wine crate, or even some exquisite red wine glasses to drink it from.
Something to Refresh Your Routine
A new year is the perfect time for trying new things - or doubling down on good habits cultivated in the previous 12 months. For beauty-lovers, that means enhancing your routine with some indulgent new products, ensuring a great year for your skin and hair, too. Below are some of the tried-and-tested favourites from the Liberty Beauty Hall, including the newly-released Hall of Fame beauty kit.
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