Chinese New Year Superstitions

Chinese New Year may be a time for friends, family and fun, but is also a time for foreboding as the festival is riddled with superstitions. These are some tips that I have found out from some sources.

Good luck

• Feel the breeze~ Welcome in the New Year with a blast of fresh air, opening your windows is said to be welcoming good luck.

• Lights ON~ Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year.

• Sweet Year~ Chinese New Year offers the perfect chance to raid the sweet shop, as eating candies is said to deliver a sweeter year to the consumer.

• Time to clean~ It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year and putting cleaning tools in the cupboard on New Year's Eve.

• Just DO it~ Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.

• Slippers only~ Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you.

• Pomelo bath~ The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year.

• Time to 改变~ Changing different things in the house such as blankets, clothes, mattress covers etc. is also a well respected tradition in terms of cleaning the house in preparation for the new year.

• Men in Red~ Chinese New Year is packed with colors, and while all the colors of the rainbow bring good luck, it's the color red that is considered the ultimate luck bringer.

Bad luck

• Dirty Doings~ Put your feet up and relax. Certainly the most enjoyable of the Chinese New Year superstitions, sweeping and cleaning is strictly forbidden. The Chinese believe cleaning means you'll sweep all of your good luck out the front door.
  

• Choppy waters & No Shoe~ Make sure you avoid rough seas in the new year by not buying shoes over the holiday period. The character for "shoe" (鞋) is a homophone for the character 諧/谐, which means "rough" in Cantonese; in Mandarin it is also a homophone for the character for "evil" (邪).

• Don't Cut your hair! Getting a hair-cut in the first lunar month puts a curse on maternal uncles. Therefore, people get a hair-cut before the New Year's Eve.

• Don't wash your hair! Washing your hair is also considered to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)

• Careful with your words~ Saying words like "finished" and "gone" is inauspicious on the New Year, so sometimes people would avoid these words by saying "I have completed eating my meal" rather than say "I have finished my meal."

• No to "death"~ Talking about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered inauspicious.

• Read between the Lines~ Be sure to stock up on reading materials before Chinese New Year, as Hong Kong's bookshops will be padlocked tight. Buying (or reading) books is bad luck because the character for "book" (書/书) is a homonym to the character for "lose" (輸/输).

• Black and White~ Avoid clothes in black and white, as black is a symbol of bad luck, and white is a traditional Chinese funeral colour.

• NO "F", "D" or "S" words! Foul language is inappropriate during the Chinese New Year.

• 死火! Offering anything in fours, as the number four (四), pronounced sì, can sound like "death" (死), pronounced sĭ, in Chinese.
  

• NO Clock~ One should never buy a clock for someone or for oneself because a clock in Chinese tradition means one's life is limited or "the end," which is also forbidden.

• No Drugs~ Avoid medicine and medicine related activities (at least on the first day) as it will give a bad fortune on one's health and lessen the luck one can obtain from New Years.

• Balance the Book~ If you're in debt, it's time to dip into your pockets and pay people off. The Chinese believe that if you start the new year in the red, you'll finish it the same way.

• Ghostly Conversation~ Caught round a campfire over the holiday period? No ghost stories. Tales of death, dying and ghosts is considered supremely inauspicious, especially during Chinese New Year.

• Get to the point~ Sharp objects are said to be harbingers of bad luck, as their sharp points cut out your good luck, pack them away.You should also avoid the hairdressers or you'll have your good luck chopped off.

They may be some more rules vary from different group but it's still depend on the individual whether if they want to follow the culture traditional or not.

The 15-Day Celebration of Chinese New Year

Not long ago a Malay Friend of mine asked me something about Chinese Year New facts. He was interested in the culture so I done a little research about it and found out many things that I didn't know myself =D
So for now, I am just gonna briefly write about the meaning in each of the 15-Day for CNY.

The Day before the new year

The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the dinner every family will have, this is what we called 团圆饭
A dish consisting of fish and other fillings will be prepared on the tables of Chinese families which is 鱼生. It is for display for the New Year's Eve dinner.

First day of the Lunar New Year new year

This day is what we call "the welcoming of the Gods of the heavens and earth".
Many people is abstain from consuming meat on the first day of the new year because they believe that this will ensure longevity and happy lives for them.

Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.

Second day of the Lunar New Year

The second day of the Chinese New Year is for married daughters to visit their birth parents.
Another event is the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods.
They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.

Third and fourth days of the new year

The third and fourth day of the Chinese New Year are generally accepted as inappropriate days to visit relatives and friends because families who had an immediate kin deceased in the past 3 years will not go house-visiting as a form of respect to the dead, but people may visit them on this day.

Fifth day of the new year

The fifth day is called Po Woo.
This is also the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth.
On that day people stay home to welcome the God of Wealth.
No one visits families and friends on the fifth day because it will bring both parties bad luck.

Sixth to Tenth day of the new year

On the 6th to the 10th day, the Chinese visit their relatives and friends freely. They also visit the temples to pray for good fortune and health.

Seventh day of the new year

The seventh day, traditionally known as 人日, the common man's birthday.
This is also a day for farmers to display their produce. These farmers make a drink from seven types of vegetables to celebrate the occasion.
Noodles are eaten to promote longevity and raw fish for success.

Eighth day of the new year

On the eighth day the Fujian 福建 people have another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they pray to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven.

Ninth day of the new year

The ninth day of the New Year is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven (天公). The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor.

Tenth to Twelfth day of the new year

The 10th through the 12th are days that friends and relatives should be invited for dinner.

Thirteenth day of the new year

After so much rich food, on the 13th day you should have simple rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum 菜心) to cleanse the system.

Fourteenth day of the new year

The 14th day should be for preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival which is to be held on the 15th night.

Fifteenth day of the new year

The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as 元宵节.
Ice dumplings 汤圆, a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, is eaten this day.
Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.

This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.