慶

• Ritual: A rite of thanksgiving or the act of reporting a success or blessing to ancestors or deities, often involving an offering.
• Social: The act of congratulating another on an achievement or auspicious event.
• Nominal: A blessing, good fortune, or an auspicious event.

• Transitive Verb: $A$ 慶 $B$ (A congratulates B).
• Intransitive/Stative Verb: To celebrate; to be in a state of celebration.
• Noun: A blessing, fortune, or joyful occasion.

// Contrast with 賀 (//hè*): While often interchangeable, 慶 tends to emphasize the inherent auspiciousness or joy of the occasion, whereas 賀 more frequently implies formal social protocol and the exchange of gifts.

• Simplified variant: 庆 (U+5E86).

• The glyph contains the element 鹿 (deer), which in early ritual strata indicates an offering.

• In archaic or ritual texts, "celebrate" may be shorthand for performing a rite of thanksgiving.
• If the passage concerns fate or ancestral favor, 慶 may function as a manifestation of grace rather than a human action.