People Are Rolling Oranges Through Their Entryways In February for Better Luck This Lunar New Year

'Rolling in the gold' with oranges symbolizes wealth, prosperity, and abundance

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Whether you're planning on celebrating the Lunar New Year next week, which falls on February 17 this year, or don't tend to mark it, there's one little-known practice that Feng Shui experts promise can bring you wealth and abundance regardless.

Known as 'rolling in the gold,' the simple act of rolling nine oranges through your doorway on the first day of the Lunar New Year is believed to encourage good fortune, prosperity, and success.

Why Do People Roll Oranges Through Their Entryway on Chinese New Year's Day?

To find out more about 'rolling in the gold' as a way to use Feng Shui in the Year of the Horse at home, I spoke to Suzanne Roynon, a Feng Shui consultant and interiors therapist.

She explains, 'This is an enjoyable tradition to encourage good fortune, prosperity, and success into homes on the first day of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

'In some Chinese dialects, the word for orange sounds very much like the word for ‘gold’, while tangerine evokes the word for ‘luck’, and every homeowner wants to see the benefits of having extra wealth and good luck entering their property.

'Oranges, tangerines, mandarins, and even tiny kumquats are rolled over the threshold and into the home, sometimes accompanied by a handful of Chinese coins to amplify their effect.'

And, as Katie Brindle, Chinese Medicine practitioner and cosmologist, points out, 'The bright color and round shape of an orange also resemble gold ingots, which have historically been a powerful symbol of wealth in China.'

In particular, adds Suzanne Butler, a Feng Shui practitioner from Harmonizing Energies, this is all to do with entryway Feng Shui, and is a symbolic way of activating the home's main entry point, known in Feng Shui as the mouth of qi, where opportunity and prosperity enter.

'By rolling them inward, you are intentionally welcoming fresh energy into the home for the year ahead, encouraging prosperity to arrive smoothly and stay, rather than rush back out,' she says.

In the left is a large white fruit bowl filled with oranges and fir needles, on a large glass plate with bundles of cinnamon sticks tied with string. To the right is the corner of the plate, and in the blurred background a patterned tablecloth and tableware are seen.

Oranges symbolize gold, wealth, and abundance in certain cultures.

(Image credit: Future / James Merrell)

Once it has been rolled in, it is then eaten with family, friends, and community, to share the positive energy around.

For added luck and prosperity, Katie explains that she always uses oranges in her red envelope ritual, significant as red is one of the luckiest colors to decorate with in 2026.

'Traditionally, in China, red envelopes are filled with money and given as gifts to pass on good fortune and blessings,' she explains. 'I use them slightly differently.

'Every year, just before Chinese New Year, I go online and buy red envelopes. I share these envelopes with my children and close friends, and, instead of money, we place a written wish for the year ahead inside our own envelope. This year, the wishes are for 2026.'

Katie shares that, once written, she places the envelopes underneath a fruit bowl, filled with mandarins.

'I then place this in a special place in my home for the first three days of the New Year,' she continues. 'You can eat a mandarin a day if you like.

'Just before the next Chinese New Year, I find my envelopes, open them, and reflect. Did my wishes come true?'

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Meet the Experts

Suzanne Roynon
Suzanne Roynon

Suzanne is a Feng Shui consultant, interiors therapist, regular Homes & Gardens contributor, and the author of a bestselling book, Welcome Home: How Stuff Makes or Breaks Your Relationship, available at Amazon. She's also a public speaker and aims to help people understand the way they respond to their homes and possessions.

A headshot of Suzanne Butler wearing a blue shirt and large brown glasses.
Suzanne Butler

Suzanne embraced Feng Shui back in 2017, after eight years in the Defence Force, and is now passionate about helping others unlock the same magic that she found in their own lives.

A headshot of Katie Brindle in a white long-sleeved top and black jeans against a cream background
Katie Brindle

Katie is a Chinese Medicine practitioner and cosmologist who has been working in Chinese medicine since 2022. She is qualified as a Five Elements Chinese medical practitioner and graduated from the UK’s Integrated College of Chinese Medicine.

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Ottilie Blackhall
Ottilie Blackhall
Sleep Editor

Ottilie joined Homes & Gardens in 2024 as the News Writer on Solved, after finishing a Master's in Magazine Journalism at City, University of London. Now, as the Sleep Editor, she spends her days hunting deals and producing content on all things sleep – from mattresses and sheets to protectors and pillows, all of which she tests in her own home. She also has particular expertise in home fragrance, covering everything from candles to reed diffusers.

Previously, she has written for Livingetc and Motorsport Magazine, and also has a Master's degree in English Literature and History of Art from the University of Edinburgh, where she developed a love for inspiring interiors and architecture.