For thousands of years, Chinese New Year has been celebrated, marking a fresh new start. There are many traditions followed throughout the year to ensure good luck, good health, prosperity, harmony, and balance in your life.
Things NOT to do to ensure a good year of the Tiger
Don’t start the Chinese New Year with debts
Day 1
Don’t take out the trash
Garbage should not be taken out during the first four days of Chinese New Year, as it symbolizes cleaning out all of the good luck for the coming year.
Don’t break anything
Breaking something brings bad luck. If you accidentally break something on days 1-4, say 歲歲平安 (suì suì píng ān), which means: “May everyone be blessed all year round.” The pronunciation of 歲 (suì) is the same for both “break” and “year,” and 平安 (píng ān) means “peaceful” or “blessed.” So you turn bad luck into good luck.
Don’t bring an odd number of presents
Day 2: Don’t cry on New Year
If you cry on Chinese New Year’s day, you could bring yourself misfortune in the coming days.
Day 4: Stay home
The Kitchen God is coming back to Earth today and will do a roll call, so make sure you are at home.
Don’t borrow or lend money during Chinese New Year, as it means you will suffer financial loss.
Day 9: Don’t hang out the laundry
Don’t cut your hair
It’s considered a bad omen to have a haircut during the Chinese New Year period. Also, wearing all black or white should be avoided since they are colors used at a funeral, and they symbolize bad luck.
