Would you risk sweeping the floor if it meant sweeping your fortune away?
Behind the bright lanterns and decorations for joyful celebrations lies a world of superstitions that quietly acts as a guide for how your year is bound to begin.
Here is a list of superstitions that continue to shape how the Lunar New Year is celebrated.
1. Avoid breaking things
As clumsy as you are, avoid breaking items such as plates, glasses, bowls, vases, and mirrors during the festive season, as it symbolises deficiency.
Breaking items is seen as a bad omen during the Spring Festival, symbolising bad luck, financial loss, or family discord.
If something breaks accidentally, people wrap the pieces in red paper and say “sui sui ping an” (岁岁平安), meaning peace and safety throughout the year, as “sui” (broken) sounds like “sui” (year) in Mandarin.
2. No sweeping
The act of sweeping on this day is associated with sweeping your wealth away.
Families clean thoroughly in the days leading up to the festival but refrain from using brooms on New Year’s Day itself.
Fun fact: even throwing out the trash is believed to symbolise casting away the home’s good luck and fortune.
3. No porridge (and meat)
Porridge is avoided during Chinese New Year, as it is traditionally associated with poverty as a breakfast food, and starting the year this way is believed to bring bad luck or a bad omen.
Additionally, meat is also avoided for breakfast out of respect for the Buddhist gods (who are said to oppose the idea of slaughtering animals), as all gods are expected to be visiting and exchanging Happy New Year blessings to one another.
Looking for the best breakfast option then? Dumplings!
4. No unlucky or negative words
Who would want to start the New Year with negativity? Certainly not someone who wishes for a Happy New Year.
During the Lunar New Year, it’s all about positivity.
Avoid saying words related to death, sickness, poverty, and ghosts as they attract bad luck.
These words would usually be replaced with euphemisms – for example, saying “somebody is gone” instead of “somebody died”.
5. Avoid arguments and sadness
Crying or fighting during the holiday is considered a bad omen, potentially foretelling sorrow throughout the year.
Families especially make special efforts to maintain peace and harmony. To prevent children from throwing a fit, parents should not punish their kids, even if they misbehave.
So you’d better hold back those tears, as crying on Chinese New Year is said to mean you’ll be sobbing your way through the rest of the year, and no tear duct can handle 12 months of that.
6. No black or white clothing
Yup, you guessed it! Chinese New Year is all about bright colours (and red).
Wearing red clothes is believed to ward off evil spirits and bring happiness, whereas black or white clothing is traditionally associated with mourning.
In Chinese traditions, white symbolises death and funerals. Wearing it during Chinese New Year is seen as unlucky, whereas black is considered inauspicious.
7. No needlework
Traditionally, women avoided all needle work from day one to day five of the first lunar month, believing that sewing during this time would lead to a year of hard work and constant sewing.
Even making shoes is to be avoided, since it symbolises an invitation for misfortunes and evil to enter one’s home.
Whether strictly followed or not, these superstitions reflect cherished traditions and hopes for good fortune.
Are you aware of any other New Year superstitions that we missed?