Draco Malfoy, a character played by Tom Felton in the Harry Potter series, has unexpectedly become a symbol of Lunar New Year festivities in China thanks to a linguistic quirk. Homophones play an outsized role in Chinese culture, where a limited range of syllables means many words share identical or near-identical sounds. These also influence holiday customs and taboos, giving dishes, decorations, and greetings added meaning as celebrants seek to maximize peace and good fortune. Newsweek