祝い
いわい · iwai · JLPT N3 · noun
celebration
🎉 iwai sounds like ee-WAI! (eee, wow-ee!), the cheer you shout at a celebration
祝い is the noun form of the verb 祝う (iwau, to celebrate). The kanji 祝 also appears in 祝日 (shukujitsu, public holiday), so the 祝 part means celebrating. You will see お祝い on gifts given for weddings, births and new jobs.
祝 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 兄 (elder brother/person speaking)
Originally an oracle bone pictograph showing a person kneeling before an altar (示) with an open mouth, representing a priest reciting prayers or invocations. The meaning extended from 'invoke blessings' to the modern sense of 'wish' or 'congratulate'. The 示 component signals ritual/spirit, while 兄 contributes both meaning and sound.