Paper-cuts often appear on windows and doors during Chinese New Year as festive decorations and symbols of good fortune.
Chinese paper-cutting, or jiǎnzhǐ, uses scissors or a sharp knife to create designs in paper. Red is especially common during New Year because it is associated with happiness, celebration, and luck. Designs may show flowers, animals, Chinese characters, legendary figures, or symbols connected with prosperity and a good harvest.
Window decorations are often called “window flowers,” even when the design is not literally a flower. Families may paste them on windows, doors, walls, lamps, and lanterns. The placement helps brighten the home while expressing hopes for happiness and a favorable new year.
Paper-cutting has a long history in China. It developed after paper became available, although related decorative patterns were made earlier from materials such as silk, leather, leaves, and metal foil. Chinese paper-cutting was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Paper-cuts are not the same as silk banners or folded origami figures.