As the Year of the Horse in the Chinese lunar calendar draws near, Chinese netizens have noticed that Ma-er-fu, the Chinese name of the character "Malfoy" from "Harry Potter", contains the two Chinese characters "Ma" (horse) and "Fu" (fortune), both of which are deeply auspicious symbols. The name has thus been playfully interpreted as "May you all have fortune in the Year of the Horse". Thus, the "Malfoy-themed" red square papers printed with the Chinese character "Fu", have been trending nonstop on Chinese social media and e-commerce platforms.

Malfoy is a character from J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, a student of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Some fans have even created custom Chinese New Year couplets for him, "May Malfoy bring blessings and good fortune; may Slytherin keep us safe and sound."

The comment sections of actor Tom Felton, who portrays Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" film franchise, have been flooded with comments from Chinese netizens, and Felton himself has joined in the trend by sharing related posts. On February 3rd, he reposted an image on social media showing a large Malfoy-themed poster hanging in a Chinese shopping mall, with the caption, "Draco Malfoy has suddenly become a symbol of Chinese New Year in China."

On e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, a wide range of "Malfoy-themed Chinese New Year tie-in products" has emerged. Creative merchants have launched products including couplets, stickers, fridge magnets, and badges, all cleverly designed to blend traditional Chinese New Year elements with the magical world of "Harry Potter".

Following Malfoy's successful "reinvention" in Chinese New Year culture, some netizens have now turned their attention to Voldemort, the main villain of the "Harry Potter" series. A new internet meme has even sprung up, "Wu Fu Lin Men" (five blessings arrive at the door), reinterpreting the character "Fu" in "Fu-di-mo" (Voldemort's Chinese name) as the same "Fu" in good fortune. The humorous twist reads, "The new year calls for this domineering kind of blessing that bursts right through the door."

继马尔福之后，伏地魔也在中国春节火了

农历马年临近之际，中国网友注意到《哈利·波特》角色“马尔福”的中文译名中恰好包含“马”和“福”这两个极具吉祥寓意的汉字，“马尔福”也因此被解读为“马年尔等有福了”。于是，“马尔福福字”正在国内社交平台、电商平台持续走红。

马尔福是J.K.罗琳创作的《哈利·波特》系列中的角色，来自霍格沃茨魔法学校的斯莱特林学院。有网友为马尔福创作了专属春联：“马尔有福送祥瑞，斯莱特林保平安”。

马尔福扮演者汤姆·费尔顿社交账号的评论区挤满了中国网友，费尔顿本人亲自下场玩梗晒图。2月3日，汤姆·费尔顿在社交账号上转发了一则图片动态，图片中是中国商场内悬挂的一幅巨大马尔福春节海报，下方字幕写着“德拉科·马尔福突然成了中国新年的象征”。

淘宝等电商平台上也涌现出各式各样的“马尔福春节周边”。商家们脑洞大开，推出了包括春联、贴纸、冰箱贴、徽章在内的多种产品。这些产品设计巧妙，既有传统春节元素，又融入了《哈利·波特》的魔法世界特征。

随着马尔福在中国春节文化中的成功“转型”，一些网友已经开始将目光投向《哈利·波特》系列中最大反派伏地魔。甚至有人玩起了“五伏临门”的梗——将伏地魔的“伏”与福气的“福”相联系，创造出“新的一年需要这种闯进门的霸道福气”的幽默解读。

文｜记者 邵梓恒
译｜徐芷晴
审｜肖凯欣