Lunar New Year decorations are selling well.
(Baonghean.vn) - In the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), the streets of Vinh City seem to be transformed with vibrant colors. Throughout the city, you can easily find decorative items for sale, adding to the festive atmosphere of Tet.
As in previous years, the most popular Tet decorations for the Year of the Dragon (2012) are hanging scrolls decorated with images of gold coins, gold bars, and apricot blossoms, adorned with auspicious greetings such as: "May all your wishes come true," "Happy New Year," "Great fortune in the new year," "Prosperity and wealth," etc. These are priced from 15,000-30,000 VND per small string and 60,000-120,000 VND per large string. Stickers and hanging ornaments of the God of Wealth and a pair of celestial beings holding the character "Fu" (meaning good fortune) are also popular choices, priced from 50,000-80,000 VND per pair.
One of the new items attracting customers this year is wall stickers featuring stylized dragons, plum blossom string lights with LED lights inside the flower centers; plum and peach blossoms made of foam or sponge with glitter in various sizes (very convenient for sticking on walls and glass doors)... or stickers of Buddha, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva; the characters for Happiness, Prosperity, and Longevity, and calligraphy.
This year's Tet decorations are quite diverse in terms of types and designs.
Wishing for good fortune and prosperity at the beginning of the year, many people like to decorate their doorways with garlands made of gold coins, gold bars, firecrackers, chili peppers, etc., priced from 40,000 to 60,000 VND per garland. Tet greeting cards are also widely available in bookstores and souvenir shops; and domestically produced cards are gaining popularity over imported ones.
Handmade greeting cards, meticulously crafted with many motifs symbolizing traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) such as dragons, mythical birds, carp, and apricot blossoms, are also popular choices among customers. This year, the red envelope market offers a unique service: printing the name of the person wishing the customer well and a message on the envelope. A representative from Pi-chanel, the service provider, stated that there are approximately 20 different designs with various subtle messages conveying peace and good fortune for customers; each envelope costs around 4,000 VND.
Traditional red envelopes range in price from 5,000 to 15,000 VND per dozen... Mr. Hoang Van Thong, the owner of a Tet decoration shop on Nguyen Phong Sac Street (Vinh City), said: "Tet decorations are becoming increasingly diverse in materials and designs. This year, prices have increased by about 20-30% compared to last year, and imported goods (mainly from China and Thailand) are still dominating the market because of their eye-catching colors, diverse designs, and quite sophisticated details; domestically produced goods are generally still monotonous and lack innovation."
If you stroll through the streets at night, you'll be overwhelmed by the dazzling colors of all kinds of flashing lights and lanterns in various shapes – round, rhombus, pentagon, hexagon – decorated with Chinese characters, flowers, dragons, etc., which are selling quite well at prices ranging from 150,000 to 250,000 VND per piece; string lights cost from 50,000 to 150,000 VND per string depending on size. In addition, the market also offers feng shui waterfall models made of stone and ceramic, designed in the shape of dragons, phoenixes, and peacocks, capable of creating the sounds of babbling streams, birdsong, and misting... priced from 1.5 to 2 million VND per set, currently a popular choice for customers to decorate their homes and add vibrancy.
With the desire for good luck, success, and prosperity, many people spend a considerable amount of money buying feng shui items to place in their homes and offices. Ms. Le Thi Mai, owner of a shop specializing in gemstones and feng shui items (on Dinh Cong Trang Street, Vinh City), said: "In the last days of the year, the shop is always busy with a large number of customers. They come to the shop to buy natural stones and gemstones to decorate their homes for Tet (Lunar New Year)... hoping for a prosperous new year. This year, popular products include round spheres, tall stone pillars, green cabbage plants, Pixiu (mythical creature), lions, three-legged toads holding pearls, three-legged money toads (toads transforming into dragons), carp leaping over the dragon gate, and sails full of wind... all symbolizing good luck, abundance, and career advancement."
Generally, the selling price depends on the luster and sophistication of each product; the more sophisticated the stone, the higher the price. Among the types of feng shui stones on the market, there are not only domestic stones such as multicolored jade, ruby, and jadeite, but also stones imported from India, Pakistan, and China such as amethyst, ochre, and marble. According to belief, quartz is considered a precious stone, possessing natural energy that can dispel worries and bring good fortune, hence its high price, with some items costing hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong.
Every spring, the demand for decorating homes, offices, and shops increases significantly. This is partly to beautify the space to welcome the new year, and partly to wish for a more prosperous year. Therefore, the market for Tet (Lunar New Year) decorations is always vibrant and in high demand.
Ngoc Anh
