About the Double Happiness Character

The double happiness graph (pronounced "shuang-hsi" in Mandarin) is a special Chinese character used for marital happiness. It’s not used in regular Chinese writing or printing. Each half of the symbol is the standard character for happiness, written "hsi" or "xi," and pronounced something like "she" in Mandarin. Therefore, two "hsi" graphs together represents the wish for the two young newlyweds to have happiness together. (Source: Chris Jochim, Comparative Religious Studies Program, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA)

Since there are many different styles of writing & printing Chinese characters, you may see different versions of the double happiness character. Some may be more stylized and abstract, like freehand calligraphy. Others may be the old block print style. We encountered many different styles in our online searches and liked the one we've used on this site the best. (Source: Lilly's Daddy)

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