Happy Lunar New Year my silk friends! Wish everyone a silky smooth new year!
My contribution to this week is my (again) Turandot scarf! Favorite formal Asian scarf!
I simply adore this scarf as it has many Asian symbols.
The peach flowers: Peach flower is the traditional must-have flower for the Lunar New Year in my hometown. Every single household has it in their house during the first 15 days on the new year. It represents good luck, beauty, and prosperity.
And the flowers in real life:
The 8-shaped jar (a popular object in South Eastern fairy tales, often seen on heavenly places) with a Chinese character (that literally means double-happiness, I believe, often seen at weddings as a symbol of marriage).
Beautiful flowers with the two butterflies wandering around. A pair of butterflies often means a happy romantic relationship. Many Asian stories mention that couples who are in love, when they die they will turn into butterflies so that they can travel together for good.
Lotus: a symbol of purity and Buddhism.
The carp (fish) and the turtle: Long story short, in many Southeast Asian culture, carp fishes symbolize the courage and enduring strong will that eventually will become fruitful and pay off, i.e. people who dare to try will prevail (like the prince in the Turandot opera). In some traditional Asian fairy tales, an ordinary carp fish was believed to be able to pass the very strong and challenging waves to reach the heaven's gate, and subsequently transformed into a dragon.
Turtle: an animal that is believed to live thousands of years, hence symbolizes longevity. Same with peaches (people who eat peaches from heaven's gardens will gain immortality).
Dragon: symbolizes the king/queen and his direct family. Pomegranates symbolize fertility.
Phoenix (at the upper left hand corner of the scarf) represents people born with noble blood.
All in all, my own interpretation of this scarf is that just like the Turandot story, people who dare to overcome challenges will be able to win their love and live happily ever after with their beloved.
Thanks so much for sharing, my peko!
