10 Tips for Chinese New Year





copyright The Ponder Room

Half way through Chinese New Year here are some tips that have been passed on to me to get the most out of the celebrations for this year, and the future.

1. Clean your house just before Chinese New Year to sweep away the ‘old’ and allow space for the ‘new’.
2. Don’t clean on the day of Chinese New Year as sweeping then is thought to sweep away ‘the wealth’
3. Decorate the house with red paper-cut outs depicting ‘happiness’, ‘wealth’ and ‘longevity’.
4. It used to be thought that breaking tools or equipment during this time lead to a loss of wealth for the coming year. Thankfully this is no so widely accepted now, however if you need an excuse not to fix that broken toilet, there you go.
5. Similarly it used to be taboo for a married daughter to visit her parent’s house as it would bring bad luck to the family. Feel free to accept or reject this taboo as you see fit.
   

   Waiting to Pounce  copyright The Ponder Room

   

6. If you’re going out to a Chinese New Year function, forget basic black wear red or bright colours to ward off evil spirits.



7. Try to book a table near the front of the restaurant as it will almost certainly guarantee you will end the night covered in cabbage. If so don’t panic, this is very lucky and means you will have a great year with money coming your way.



8. Take along small red envelopes containing Lucky Money to feed the ravenous lions. It’s best if the money is in even numbers, as money given in odd numbers is associated with funerals. So a $2 is better than $1. the numbers 8 and 6 are lucky as they sound like ‘wealth’ and ‘smooth’. So if you want a smooth year think about these numbers for your lotto picks.
9. When tossing the Raw Fish Prosperity Salad in the air toss it really high, don’t worry about the mess, the higher it goes the more luck you will have. Mind you if you keep tossing the rest of your dishes in the air I can predict not only a bad year ahead, but a bad end to the evening, especially if the lions are watching. And no, no amount of pointing out that the other dishes contained cabbage too will appease the spirits.
10. Forget all grudges and wish peace and happiness for everyone.

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy Chinese New Year)

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