PUSSY WILLOWS
I am pictured with a bundle of pussy willows that my mum had just purchased from a shopping centre. The pussy willow is a harbinger of spring. Pussy Willow is believed to bring luck to the Chinese if used as decoration at home during the celebration. It is widely sought after for its white catkins that look like cotton. It is usually placed in a vase and adorned with Chinese New Year decorations such as ang pao packets. Pussy willows are hard to be found with leaves, as the woolly catkins are formed before the leaves. But if leaves appear during the festive season, it is believed to symbolise prosperity for the whole year.It is customary for the Chinese, not only in China but throughout the world, to bring the sweet scent of spring inside their homes during this time of the year. Similarly, families in Malaysia visit the markets to hunt for plants which are symbolic of this season eventhough we do not have the four seasons here. Stalls selling Chinese New Year plants are set up by vendors around the 12th lunar month.
The Chinese go to the markets and other similar retail places to buy plants and flowers that they consider auspicious and believe will bring them good luck for the coming year. The Kumquat tree is considered to be the luckiest because its name is a play on the word lucky. The peach blossom is also considered to be lucky and considered to bring romance luck. However, this is rather difficult to get in Malaysia. We usually have to be contented with the plastic or silk type. A number of other flowers have special New Year’s significance in Chinese culture, including plum blossoms (symbolizing the beginning of spring), peonies (prosperity), narcissus and chrysanthemum (longevity). Other blooms such as orchids, forsythia, camellias, and golden mums are also considered to be lucky.
The practice of shopping for auspicious plants is rather similar to the Western tradition of buying a fir tree for Christmas.