Wishing bottle with gems and/or lucky tree.

A lucky bottle is a small bottle with a piece of paper, piece of wood or object inside. This piece of paper, stick or object usually contains a philosophical statement or a fairly general prediction of the future (similar to that in a horoscope). It can also contain a series of lucky numbers (usually for a lottery) and Chinese sayings with the corresponding translation. The exact origin of lucky bottles is unknown, but several groups of immigrants to California claim to have introduced the phenomenon in the early 20th century. The bottle is said to be based on the Japanese senbei and is related to the fortune cookie. Interestingly, many of the immigrants who claim to have invented the fortune cookies are indeed Japanese. Although the biscuits themselves are a relatively new invention, the idea for biscuits with paper inside is said to lie somewhere in 14th century China. Legend has it that a Chinese who wanted to revolt against Mongol rule secretly planned an uprising by urging people to resist the Mongols through messages hidden in mooncake.