Chinese New Year Taboos and Superstitions: 16 Things You Should Not Do

  • Avoid taking medicine. …
  • Don’t sweep or take out garbage. …
  • Don’t eat porridge and meat for breakfast. …
  • Don’t wash clothes and hair. …
  • Needlework should not be done. …
  • A married daughter is not allowed to visit the house of her parents.

Besides, Can you shower during Chinese New Year?

Leave your hair as it is on the first day of the New Year. The Chinese character for hair is the same first character in the word for prosper. … Actually, LNY fundamentalists will tell you taking a shower is also off-limits on the first day for the same reason.

Also, What color should you not wear on Chinese New Year?

Everyone loves the colour black because it flatters most body shapes. Unfortunately, it is a colour that you must never wear during the new year because black is typically worn during funerals. The colour has been associated with death, depression and all sorts of inauspicious things!

Herein, Is it bad luck to work Chinese New Year? When Chinese New Year’s Day comes, they take a day or days off from work and also don’t do housework. It’s considered unlucky to do work and chores on the first day of the year as it symbolizes going through hardships through the year.

What is good luck for Chinese New Year?

Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year. 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. Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a “sweet” year.

24 Related Questions and Answers

What should you not do on New Year’s Day?

Nothing goes out of the house, or you will be losing things during the upcoming year. Don’t take out the trash or food or anything, if your trash needs emptying, do it before midnight or on January 2nd. If you have food or anything to take somewhere on New Years day, have it outside or at their house already.

Can you wash your hair on New Year’s Eve?

If for any reason a gift is to be given this day, leave it in a car or out building New Year’s Eve. — Some cultures believe one should not wash his or her hair on New Year’s Day because it will wash away the good fortune of that person.

What are the colors for Chinese New Year?

But we’re hoping Year of the Dog will be excellent. As you may know, red and gold are the traditional colors displayed during Chinese New Year festivities.

Why does Chinese New Year go for 15 days?

During the 15 day period new year visits (Traditional Chinese: 拜年; pinyin: bài nián, translated: pay respect, worship, salute the year) will be made to family and friends. … The day symbolises as well a new start in one’s life, refreshing hopes for prosperity, wealth and happiness.

What clothes do they wear on Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year Clothes

Some families still wear traditional Chinese clothing like qipao, but many families now wear regular, Western-style clothing like dresses, skirts, pants, and shirts on Chinese New Year’s Day. Many opt to wear lucky red underwear.

Are oranges good luck for Chinese New Year?

Oranges and Other Citrus

Oranges, kumquats, tangerines and pomelos are common Chinese New Year gifts because they’re believed to bring good luck and happiness. The Chinese words for “orange” and “tangerine” closely resemble the words for “luck” and “wealth.” The gold color of these fruits also symbolizes prosperity.

What should you not do on New Year’s day?

Nothing goes out of the house, or you will be losing things during the upcoming year. Don’t take out the trash or food or anything, if your trash needs emptying, do it before midnight or on January 2nd. If you have food or anything to take somewhere on New Years day, have it outside or at their house already.

Why you shouldn’t do laundry on New Year’s day?

Don’t do laundry on New Year’s Day, or a member of the family will be washed away (i.e., die) during the coming year. … Doing laundry on New Year’s Day will wash a year of good fortune down the drain.

What do you eat on Chinese New Year day?

Here are 11 examples of traditional Lunar New Year food for 2021, and what they represent.

  • Sweet glutinous rice cake (nian gao) khajornkiatGetty Images. …
  • Whole Fish. …
  • Whole Chicken. …
  • Dumplings (Jiaozi) …
  • Sweet Rice Balls (Tangyuan) …
  • Braised Shiitake Mushrooms. …
  • Tangerines and Oranges. …
  • Longevity Noodles.

What can you not eat during Chinese New Year?

To ensure an auspicious New Year, there are specific dishes that most families tend to avoid. Man says they never order squash. “Because squash, or gwa, sounds like death,” he says. Squid and crab are also foods to stay away from.

Why should you not do laundry on New Year’s Day?

Don’t do laundry on New Year’s Day, or a member of the family will be washed away (i.e., die) during the coming year. Doing laundry on New Year’s Day will wash a year of good fortune down the drain. … Wear something new on New Year’s Day to increase the likelihood of more new clothes in the coming year.

Why can’t you clean on New Year’s Day?

According to folklore, if you wash clothes on New Year’s Day, you’ll be “washing for the dead” or washing a loved one away — meaning someone in your household will die in the coming year. Get your laundry wash, dried, folded and put away by New Year’s Eve.

What is the traditional New Year’s Day dinner?

The most well-known New Year’s Day meal is, of course, the Southern tradition of collard greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread, but we’ve got recipes that’ll give delicious twists on all of those, like a collard slaw and a spicy black-eyed peas stew.

Why is it bad luck to wash clothes on New Year’s Day?

Don’t do laundry on New Year’s Day, or a member of the family will be washed away (i.e., die) during the coming year. … Doing laundry on New Year’s Day will wash a year of good fortune down the drain.

Is it bad luck to clean on New Year’s Eve?

If you’re concerned about “sweeping” or “washing” away any luck coming your way, don’t do any cleaning—including dishes and laundry. Actually, just before midnight, so you can let the old year out and welcome the new one. (It doesn’t have to be for long—even those who believe in this superstition can get cold!)

Why should you not eat chicken on New Year’s Day?

Be sure to hold on to this year’s good luck by avoiding eating chicken, turkey, and other winged fowl. Another good reason to not eat chicken or turkey on New Year’s Day is because these creatures scratch backward in the dirt, which is thought to symbolize dwelling on your past and preventing progress in the New Year.

What color is the luckiest?

(I) Red — Happiness, Success and Good Fortune

It is also the national color representing happiness, beauty, vitality, good luck, success and good fortune. Red is famously popular in relation to anything Chinese and is widely used during festivals and important events like weddings.

What color is bad luck in Japan?

Used by itself, black can represent bad luck or misfortune.

What color is bad luck in Chinese culture?

Black is not the happiest of colors in traditional Chinese color symbolism, representing destruction, evil, cruelty, and sadness. The Chinese word for black is ‘hei’ which stands for bad luck, irregularity, and illegality.

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