Draco Malfoy Unexpectedly Became A Lunar New Year Mascot And Tom Felton Embraced It In The Best Way
In Chinese, the name Draco Malfoy is commonly translated as Ma-er-fu (馬爾福) — a name that includes the characters for “horse” and “fortune,” an especially auspicious pairing in the Year of the Horse.
British actor Tom Felton, best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the "Harry Potter” film series, has unexpectedly gone viral in China during the 2026 Lunar New Year, the Year of the Horse.
In Chinese, the name Draco Malfoy is commonly translated as Ma-er-fu (馬爾福) — a name that includes the characters for “horse” and “fortune,” an especially auspicious pairing in the Year of the Horse.
With “Harry Potter” still commanding a massive following in China years after the final film’s release, the coincidence quickly caught fans’ attention and spread across social media.
People began sharing photos of chunlian (春聯), a traditional decoration of poetic verses written on red paper that are displayed on both sides of front doors during the Lunar New Year, featuring Malfoy’s signature smirk pasted on their doors.
Chunlian symbolize good fortune, happiness and prosperity and typically feature two vertical lines and a horizontal scroll.
During Lunar New Year, many families also paste a square red paper with the character “福” (fortune) in the center of the door, often upside down — a Mandarin wordplay where “upside down” sounds like “arrive,” symbolizing that fortune has arrived.
Felton later joined in on the moment himself, sharing a video of him placing a square chunlian with the character “福” featuring an image of him as Draco Malfoy onto his door.
People in China have also begun printing Malfoy’s image onto red envelopes — the traditional hongbao (紅包) given during Lunar New Year — effectively turning “Ma-er-fu” into an unofficial symbol of holiday fortune.
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Sofia Hou
Sofia Hou
