Getting Ready for the New Year

This Thursday marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat. With the CNY coming I have been getting my hair cut, house cleaning and decorating, and shopping to get ready because once the new year is here there are many traditions or beliefs that people believe will influence whether you have good luck or bad luck for the new year.

Good luck
• To Open windows and/or doors is believed to bring in the good luck of the new year.

• To Switch on the lights during the night is believed to scare away ghosts and bad spirits that may chase away the luck and good fortune of the new year.

• Sweets are eaten to ensure a "sweet" year.

• 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 cleaning the house after New Year's Day is bad luck.

• It is believed that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Some will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity.

Bad luck
• To buy a pair of shoes is considered bad luck to some Chinese. The word "shoes" sounds like the word for "rough" in Cantonese, or "evil" in Mandarin.

• To Buy a pair of pants is considered bad luck. The word "pants"(kù) sounds like the word for "bitter"(kŭ) in Cantonese. Although it is positive in Cantonese, as the word 'pants'(fu) sounds like the the word for "wealth".

• To cut your hair is considered bad luck. The word "hair" sounds like the word for "prosperity". Thus "cutting hair" could be perceived as "cutting away your prosperity" in Cantonese.

• To washing your hair is believed to be washing away one's own luck (although modern hygienic concerns take precedence over this tradition)

• To sweep the floor is usually forbidden on the first day, as it will sweep away the good fortune and luck for the new year.

• To talk about death is inappropriate for the first few days of Chinese New Year, as it is considered unfavorable as well.

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