What does this symbol (and its variants) stand for?



I see it a lot these day, restaurants, cheongsams, art designs, etc. Does it have any religious aspect to it? Plz help! It's been wracking my head my a while now

That is symbol for the character "Lu 禄" which means "wealth/good salary". The word "Lu 禄" in ancient times refer to the salary of the officials and it was used to represent good promotion or salary or simply "wealth" (since good pay relates to wealth)

Usually, in chinese restaurants, you should also see it along with two other symbols that represent the character "Fu 福" (luck), "Shou 壽" (longetivity). The "Fu 福" (luck), "Lu 禄" (wealth) and "Shou 壽" (longetivity) are the legendary 3 celestial stars in the heaven. The chinese loves to use these 3 symbols as daily rites and life representing the wish for luck, auspiciousness and longetivity.

The 3 symbols are represented below in this order: "Fu 福" (luck), "Lu 禄" (wealth) and "Shou 壽" (longetivity)

Great. thanks for sorting it out for me

No problem.. if you have other symbols you're not sure, you can post them here..