Children, have you all seen Spring Festival couplets? Duringthe New Year, besides the door couplets your father puts up on both sides ofthe door, he also pastes a big "福" (fortune)character in the center of the door. If you see him paste it upside down, it'snot a mistake. "福" upside down signifies"fortune has arrived." People do this for good luck in the New Year.

There is a story related to this tradition of pasting the"福" character, involving Empress Ma, the wifeof Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. This story takes place duringthe Lantern Festival.