In a fascinating cultural fusion, Tom Felton’s iconic Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy has emerged as an unexpected symbol of Lunar New Year celebrations across China. The actor’s portrayal of the cunning Slytherin student has taken on new meaning as Chinese households incorporate his image into traditional festive decorations.
The phenomenon stems from the character’s Chinese name translation – Ma Er Fu (马尔福) – which contains the characters for ‘horse’ (马) and ‘fortune’ (福). This linguistic coincidence has made the character particularly auspicious for the upcoming Year of the Horse celebrations. E-commerce platforms like Taobao have reported surging sales of Malfoy-themed decorations, including door couplets, upside-down posters, and decorative magnets featuring the character’s signature smirk.
Traditional Chinese New Year customs involve displaying auspicious writings and symbols to attract health and prosperity while warding off evil spirits. The practice of hanging square-shaped papers upside down – representing the arrival of good fortune due to the homophonic quality of ‘upside down’ (倒) and ‘arrival’ (到) in Chinese – has been creatively adapted with Malfoy’s imagery.
The trend has gained substantial traction on Chinese social media platforms, with Weibo users sharing images of their Malfoy decorations accompanied by captions like ‘Share this image for good fortune.’ References to Harry Potter lore, including the Felix Felicis luck potion, have proliferated in discussions about this unique cultural crossover.
Actor Tom Felton himself has acknowledged the phenomenon, resharing an Instagram story about his character becoming a ‘symbol of Chinese New Year in China,’ which further excited his substantial Chinese fanbase. The response included hashtags such as ‘Malfoy himself is 100% hilarious,’ demonstrating enthusiastic approval from local Potterheads.
This development highlights the enduring popularity of the Harry Potter franchise in China, where hundreds of millions of books have been sold and film re-releases have generated significant revenue. Warner Bros Discovery’s plans to open the largest Making Of Harry Potter studio tour in Shanghai in 2027 further underscore the franchise’s substantial cultural footprint in the Chinese market.