Chinese New Year Banners – Simplified and Traditional Chinese

To celebrate Lunar New Year (Spring Festival), Chinese, Taiwanese, Singapore, and Malaysian homes are adorned with auspicious red Chinese New Year banners. In Chinese, banners are called 春联 / 春聯 (chūnlián) and have welcoming wishes for good health and prosperity written in beautiful calligraphy.

Although you can buy banners on Amazon, my sister generously created printable Chinese banners for our family! My kids and I had fun decorating these Chinese banners, and we’re happy to share them with your children and students!

Note: This post was originally published in January 2018 and has since been updated with updated photos and information. Feel free to see past social media shares on Facebook and Instagram.

This post may have some affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission which supports my blog and free printables at no additional cost to you. Please see the disclosure policy for details.

How to decorate your home with Chinese New Year Banners

Hanging these Chinese banners around the house creates a print-rich environment for learning Chinese! In traditional Chinese culture, the banners are hung in certain ways at home, schools, or businesses.

1. Vertical banners (couplets)

Traditionally, vertical Chinese banners are hung in pairs (couplets) around doors and windows to welcome new guests.

2. Diamond banners

Sometimes on doors, a diamond-shaped 福 Chinese character is hung upside down.

Because Chinese traditions often play on words with similar pronunciation,倒 (dào) means “to invert” and also “to pour out.”

Therefore, “你的福倒了” (nǐ de fú dàole) can represent that your 福 is upside down and your 福 is pouring out.

倒 also sounds like 到 (dào / arrive);

In other words, it’s a wish for good fortune to arrive all over your place.

As for 春, some friends have seen this Chinese characters upside-down, while others have remarked that it’s less common.

Examples of decorating with Chinese couplets

We decorated our DIY Cardboard Chinese market with these banners and other Chinese printable crafts from my website!

Here’s an example of how we hung some banners in our home!

However, reality with young children means that many banners are in random parts of our home – who can relate?!

Chinese American Family has more examples of how to decorate for Lunar New Year!

Common Chinese greetings on Lunar New Year banners

Here are popular Chinese New Year greetings included in our free printable banners!

Vertical Chinese banners

1. 大吉大利 (Dàjí dàlì / Happy and prosperous) – Also part of the saying 大吉大利晚上吃鸡 (Dà jí dà lì wǎn shàng chī jī / Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!)
2. 恭喜发财 / 恭喜發財 (Gōngxǐ fācái / May you have a prosperous New Year, or literally Congratulations and Make Money!)
3. 年年有余 / 年年有餘 (Nián nián yǒu yú / Have overflowing abundance every year)
4. 五福临门 / 五福臨門 (Wǔ fú lín mén / 5 blessings come upon your door)
5. 身体健康 / 身體健康 (Shēntǐ jiànkāng / Wishing you great health)
6. 心想事成 (Xīn xiǎng shì chéng / Best wishes)
7. 花开富贵 / 花開富貴 (Huā kāi fùguì / May wealth bloom as flowers bloom)
8. 吉祥如意 (Jíxiáng rúyì / Big fortune)
9. 新年快乐 / 新年快樂 (Xīnnián kuàilè / Happy New Year!)
10. 出入平安 (Chūrù píng’ān / Peace and safety wherever you go)

Diamond Chinese banner

1. 福 (fú / happiness)
2. 春 (chūn / spring)

Christian Chinese Banners

Since we are a Christian family, we wanted to feature blessings that reflect our beliefs. For us, traditional greetings are too focused on luck and wealth, which we try to de-empathize from a general parenting standpoint!

Vertical Chinese banners with Christian blessings

1. 耶稣爱你 / 耶穌愛你 (Yēsū ài nǐ / Jesus loves me)
2. 爱在我家 / 愛在我家 (Ài zài wǒjiā / Love in my home)
3. 十架之光 (Shí jià zhī guāng / Light of the Cross)
4. 神真美好 (Shén zhēn měi hǎo / God is great)
5. 常常喜乐 / 常常喜樂 (Cháng cháng xǐ lè / Always rejoice)
6. 以马内利 / 以馬內利 (Yǐ mǎ nèi lì / Emanuel)
7. 主赐平安 / 主賜平安 (Zhǔ cì píng’ān / Lord gives peace)
8. 福杯满溢 / 福杯滿溢 (Fú bēi mǎn yì / May your cup overflow with blessings)

Diamond Chinese banner with Christian blessing:

1. 恩 (Ēn / grace)

What you need to create Chinese red banners

Please review the Terms & Conditions before downloading any materials.  © CHALK ACADEMY. Do not share any files without permission from chalkacademy.com. Only this website link may be shared.

1. Chinese New Year banner templates – see below
2. Printer (we have this one)
3. Red printer paper or cardstock paper
4. Scissors and/or paper cutter
5. Optional:
   • Gold leaf pen – recommended for brightest results
   • Gold Sharpie marker
   • Biodegradable gold glitter and liquid glue
   • Glitter glue – only recommended if tracing a couple banners. If doing a large batch, hands will be sore from squeezing the bottle!
   • Black paint and paintbrush

Chinese New Year banner templates

1. Banners in Simplified Chinese

• Chinese Banners – Simplified Chinese (Outline Font)
• Chinese Banners – Simplified Chinese (Solid Font)

2. Banners in Traditional Chinese

• Chinese Banners – Traditional Chinese (Outline Font)
• Chinese Banners – Traditional Chinese (Solid Font)

3. Christian Banners in Simplified Chinese

• Christian Banners – Simplified Chinese (Outline Font)
• Christian Banners – Simplified Chinese (Solid Font)

4. Christian Banners in Traditional Chinese

• Christian Banners – Traditional Chinese (Outline Font)
• Christian Banners – Traditional Chinese (Solid Font)

How to prepare Chinese banners for Lunar New Year

If you are very busy and don’t have much time:

1. Print simplified or traditional Chinese banners with solid font
2. Cut along dotted line
3. Tape to walls and door with removable painter’s tape

If you have more time and want your child to learn the Chinese characters and fine motor skills:

1. Print simplified or traditional Chinese banners with solid or outline font
2. Cut along solid line or dotted line (depending on desired shape)
3. Color each character with black or gold art supplies
4. Tape to walls and door with removable painter’s tape

*TIP: If your child has trouble remembering Chinese characters, I recommend using solid fonts (instead of outline fonts) for more visual input.

Decorating our banners

In the next photo, my daughter is focused on tracing each Chinese character with a gold leaf pen following Chinese stroke order.

Below is a colorful version that we made in the past!

Previously, I used SongTi font, which is more block-like.

However, I have been gradually switching all of my printables to KaiTi font, the standard Chinese font, which looks better anyway!

Did you decorate your home or school with these red Chinese banners?

If you decorate your home, school, or office with our Chinese banners, let us know! 

Please leave a comment below or tag a photo #chalkacademy @chalkacademy on Instagram and Facebook!

We’d love to see how they look!

More Lunar New Year resources for children

• 20+ Fun Chinese New Year Activities for Kids!
• Lucky Chinese Red Envelopes 红包 – Free Printable in Simplified and Traditional Chinese!
• Chinese Zodiac Wheel – Educational Chinese New Year Printable
• 恭喜发财 Chinese New Year Craft Stick Puzzle
• Free Happy New Year Coloring Pages
• Lunar New Year YouTube Videos in Mandarin Chinese

Happy Lunar New Year, friends!