Preciosa Crystals & Chinese New Year Of The Rabbit

2023 is the Year of the Rabbit and the celebrations begin across China on January 22nd and will continue for approximately 15 days, up until the Lantern Festival on February 5th. Also known as the Lunar New Year, it is dictated by the cycles of the moon and this means the new year generally falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. We have decided to celebrate with sparkle from Preciosa Crystals.

The Gift of Gold

The new year is the biggest event in the Chinese calendar and there are many wonderful traditions spread across the holiday period, with each day having its own theme and customs. The most common tradition is one of giving the gift of gold in a red envelope. It began as an ancient myth where gold wrapped in red paper, saved a sleeping child from the demon Sui and has evolved over the centuries into the exchange of red packets containing money for luck.

Gold and red are featured so prominently in the celebrations because they are believed to be extremely lucky colours, with gold bringing prosperity due to its’ ties with various emperors throughout Chinas’ history. It is lucky to be both the giver and the receiver of gold, and jewellery is a popular way to offer this wish for prosperity.

At Bluestreak Crystals we love the colour gold from across our Preciosa Crystals range and there are many subtly different golden shades to choose from. If, however, you are aiming to mimic actual gold metal, we recommend the metallic coated colour Aurum from our Preciosa Flatback Crystals ranges.

The Lucky Rabbit

Each year of the Chinese calendar is associated with an animal from the Chinese Zodiac, and these signs follow a set order of twelve animals, this relates to both star constellations and ancient myths, which can vary slightly depending on who’s telling the story. The Rabbit is the fourth animal in the zodiac and known to be the luckiest of the twelve animals, symbolising mercy, elegance, and beauty.

We have adopted the image of the lucky rabbit and imbued it with the prosperity of gold to create this stunning and delightful rabbit brooch that can be worn for the duration of the lunar year. This design combines Preciosa Seed Beads, outlined with a delicate Preciosa gold cup chain and finished with a stunning Golden Shadow sew on crystal for the tail, we are confident it will be cherished by any lucky enough to receive it.