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In honor of Chinese New Year which begins this weekend, I give you these photographs from famed San Francisco photographer, Jesse Leake. My gorgeous client wore a Patricia Lee original gown and then changed to a traditional Chinese dress for the evening reception at the Julia Morgan Ballroom. Her red bouquet is a perfect accessory to her festive Asian red gown.

For those celebrating Chinese New Year, it is customary to display flowers such as peach blossoms, chrysanthemum, narcissus, bamboo, and sunflowers in your home.

In Chinese tradition, it is important to have a hint of red in your decor. Our couple chose to feature a golden Double Happiness on their programs.

Other fun things to remember about Chinese New Year is that there are some basic rules to follow. I am sharing a few with you all.

Good luck

• Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the New Year.
• Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to ’scare away’ ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the New Year.
• Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a “sweet” year.
• It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year’s Day for good luck in the coming year.
• Some believe that what happens on the first day of the New Year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping for it to bring luck and prosperity. I think spending it with family and loved ones with good food and drink is a most wonderful way to begin.
• Wearing a new pair of slippers that are bought before the New Year will bring you good luck, because it means that you are stepping on the people who gossip about you.

Bad luck

• Buying a pair of shoes on the New Year is considered bad luck amongst some Chinese.
• Getting a haircut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles. Therefore, people get a haircut before New Year’s Eve.
• Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one’s own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition).
• Sweeping the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the New Year.
• Saying words like “finished” and “gone” is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people will avoid these words by saying, “I have completed eating my meal,” rather than saying, “I have finished my meal.”
• Buying books is bad luck because the character for “book” is a homonym to the character for “lose”. Today, I went to the library to get my books!
• Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional Chinese funeral colour. Don’t worry, I am all about teal, jade, and plum tones.
• Foul language is inappropriate during the Chinese New Year. Practice being nice.
• Offering anything in fours.

Gong Hay Fat Choy (Happy Chinese New Year!)

photo by Jesse Leake