A New Year I Remember
In my memory, New Year is really just the whole family coming together and keeping busy.
On New Year’s Eve, the house was never quiet, from morning to night. The extractor fan whirred in the kitchen, the pressure cooker hissed out white steam, and the smell of simmering meat filled the house. Mom wore an apron and stood at the stove frying fritters. Dad was at the sink killing fish and washing vegetables, occasionally passing over a plate or tasting something for seasoning, still muttering about which dish needed a little longer on the heat.
The neighbors’ children were already setting off little firecrackers in the courtyard, crackling away. I grabbed a box of snap pops and ran outside to join them. After a burst of sharp pops, the air was full of that familiar smell of gunpowder, and a layer of red paper scraps lay on the ground.
When I got cold and ducked back inside, red paper and scissors were already waiting on the coffee table. Grandma sat in the middle of the sofa with her reading glasses on, guiding my hands as she showed me how to fold the paper and where to cut. I turned my little scissors around each bend so carefully, afraid of cutting through one of the thin lines. When I carefully shook the red paper open and a plump little rabbit or a wonky “福” character for good fortune appeared, the whole family gathered around to look, smiling and saying my cutting had improved since last year.
That afternoon, as soon as the flour paste was ready, we carried little bowls over to put up the paper cuts on the windows. Outside, the sky gradually grew dark. When the lights came on inside, the red paper on the glass glowed with the light, looking especially bright and warm. As I washed my hands and got ready for dinner, I looked at that window and felt completely at ease—this was New Year; this was home.
The Year of the Goat: Wishes and New Year Paper Cuts
From the Ding-wei year to an auspicious beginning
Chinese New Year falls on February 6, 2027. The first day of the first lunar month marks the beginning of the Ding-wei Year of the Goat. A goat-shaped window decoration can mark that year while also carrying a much older wish for good fortune. In Chinese decorative traditions, the animal appears on bronze and ceramic objects as well as in everyday ornament: it is more than a sign in a twelve-year cycle.
Henan Museum’s account of its bronze running goat notes the inscriptions 羊, 吉羊, and 大吉羊 on Han-period objects, associated with wishes for good fortune and prosperity. In these historical inscriptions, a familiar animal character also carried an auspicious wish. Looking at a goat-shaped paper cut, we can notice its horns and outline while also thinking about the hopes people have placed in that familiar form. Making one for New Year can continue that wish for a settled, plentiful family life.
A familiar New Year blessing is 三陽開泰, sān yáng kāi tài, a wish for renewal and a peaceful, favorable beginning. It is connected with the Tai hexagram in the Book of Changes and the idea of growing yang as winter gives way to spring. The words for 羊, goat or sheep, and 陽, yang, sound alike in Chinese; three animals therefore turn the blessing into a picture. A Qing-dynasty bamboo-root carving in the Palace Museum brings one large goat and two small ones into an affectionate group. The established phrase uses 陽; the pictured rebus may be called 三羊開泰, with 羊. That is a story to share while cutting. For a simpler message, the present-day greeting 羊年大吉 wishes someone good fortune in the Year of the Goat.
Familiar window motifs and the wishes they carry
Flowers, fruit, animals, and characters can work together through their shapes and Chinese wordplay. A fish beside a lotus says something more specific than a fish alone. Start with the wish you want to share with your family, then look for the combination that expresses it.
Fish and lotus: abundance year after year. The Chinese words for fish and surplus sound alike; lotus adds a second sound association with continuity. Together they express a hope for plenty in successive years. Fish swimming among lotus leaves give that wish a lively, flowing form. Try the fish pattern or a fish-and-lotus composition, choosing an outline you can read clearly and details you can comfortably cut.
Fu: a wish for good fortune at the center. The character 福 can stand alone or sit within flowers, foliage, zodiac animals, or a circular arrangement. The surrounding forms enrich the central wish, while the openings let window light define the strokes. Cut the Fu template as a complete, upright character so it stays readable. Whether a finished Fu is displayed upright or upside down depends on household practice; turning it over is not a requirement for every decoration.
Peony: prosperity in bloom. A full flower head and layered petals give the peony a flourishing appearance. Paired with a vase, it can convey prosperity and peace: the vase contributes a Chinese sound association with peace. Look at the peony pattern before deciding between intricate petals and a broader outline. Read the meaning through the elements actually present in the composition.
Plum blossom and magpie: happiness reaches the brow. A magpie on a plum branch brings together the bird’s association with happiness and the Chinese sound link between plum and eyebrow, forming the rebus 喜上眉梢. It makes a piece of good news feel almost visible on a branch. This reading belongs to that combination, rather than every flower-and-bird design. The plum-blossom template offers a way to practise the flower shape; a single blossom and the full magpie-on-plum scene are different compositions.
Gourd: blessings and prosperity together. The Chinese name for the gourd sounds similar to the expression for blessings and prosperity. Its two rounded sections, narrow waist, and winding vine make a recognizable silhouette with a continuous outline. When choosing the gourd pattern, notice where the waist and vine connect. Those small bridges let the broad shapes and finer lines support one another.
Pomegranate: a flourishing family. The many seeds inside an open fruit traditionally suggested many children and continuing generations. With a Buddha’s-hand citron and a peach, it can join the grouping known as the Three Abundances. If you give a pomegranate paper cut today, you might add your own wish for family togetherness and a thriving household, explaining that personal message alongside the older meaning.
The zodiac goat: a year to remember, a hopeful beginning. One animal can identify the year; three can recall the 三陽開泰 blessing above. Flowers or a Fu character can bring further wishes into the same work. The three-goats pattern has downloads and an illustrated guide. Read the 2027 Year of the Goat introduction, then put the reason for your choice on a small card. Keeping the date on the card lets the paper cut remain useful beyond that year.
Fu · Good Fortune
Keep this design flat
PDF · SVG
Abundance Fish
Keep this design flat
PDF · SVG
Festival Lantern
Step-by-step cutting guide · printable PDF
PDF · SVGA lantern can add a festive shape, while rabbits and horses need not wait for their own zodiac years. The double happiness character directs its wish toward a wedding. Continue with the motif stories or the introduction to jianzhi. Each template page keeps its A4 and US Letter PDFs, SVG, and preparation guide together: once you have chosen a meaning, choose a level of detail that suits your tools and experience too.
Cultural references (in Chinese)
Where to Display Each Decoration
Start with a window: light through the openings brings a paper cut into view. Hold a sheet against the glass to judge the size before choosing a pattern, then try the finished piece in place. Support delicate connections and use removable fixings suited to the surface, away from opening hardware and heaters.
For a wall, tabletop, or greeting card, a contrasting backing makes the outline clear. Try the arrangement before attaching it, leaving space for a message. If you reduce a pattern for a card, make another trial cut to check the thin bridges. Protect gifts between clean sheets or mount them before handling, with your wish on a separate note.
These ideas draw on Chinese New Year paper cutting. Customs vary among families and communities celebrating lunar new years.
Family Paper-Cutting Activity
Choose the wish, then the pattern
Read one motif’s story together and let each person name a wish. A vase can express peace, a fish abundance, and Fu good fortune. Choose a pattern with a level of detail you can manage. Fu need not always be displayed upside down; use the full upright design when cutting.
Try one fold
Use the heart symmetry exercise on scrap paper to practise turning the sheet and keeping a connection. This is a cutting exercise, not a traditional festival motif.
Make your piece
Follow your chosen pattern’s preparation and cutting steps. Match the tools to each maker’s experience, with an adult beside children and any knife work handled by an adult on a cutting mat.
Share the wish
Gently unfold and flatten the finished work. Show one another what you made, add a small note about your choice, and place it in the spot you prepared.
A few good questions
Must every design be red?
Red is familiar in festive decoration, but paper cutting is not restricted to one color. Choose a color that gives your finished piece enough contrast.
Should I fold a Fu character?
Use the full upright design in this collection. Mirroring half of the character changes its strokes.
Do I need a zodiac design?
No. A flower, lantern, fish, or a wish-bearing character can be a starting point. Choose a motif for its meaning and the maker’s experience.