8 Things To Avoid During Chinese New Year, According To Superstitious Chinese Parents
Here are some ways to infuse your life with a little bit more good fortune.
Natee Meepian This year, Chinese New Year begins on Wednesday, January 29. Those who celebrate will be entering the year of the snake. Just like with any holiday, traditions abound for Chinese New Year. Some of these traditions can veer a bit into superstitious territory, though.
A woman named Shu Lin took to TikTok to share the superstitions her parents taught her so you could avoid bringing yourself any bad luck in the New Year.
Here are 8 things you should avoid during Chinese New Year:
1. Washing or cutting your hair
Apparently, it’s important to be very careful when it comes to any behavior surrounding hair for Chinese New Year.
“Don’t wash your hair ‘cause it’s believed you’ll wash away your luck,” Lin said. “Or cut your hair on the day because it’s believed you’ll bring misfortune.”
The Dallas Morning News confirmed this is a commonly held superstition relating to Lunar New Year. It comes from a similarity between the words for “hair” and “fortune” in Mandarin. However, it is okay to cut your hair before the new year. “That will bring in new wealth,” Lin stated.
2. Common household chores like sweeping
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One should also be cautious with the chores they perform, according to Lin. “The same goes for sweeping the floor, doing the laundry, or taking the rubbish out,” she said. “Because it’s believed that you’re gonna be taking out good fortune and luck.”
Similarly, it’s acceptable to do these things before the new year begins to remove bad luck from your space, the Dallas Morning News noted. While this may feel inconvenient for some people who are ready to get their cleaning done on Wednesday, others will surely feel relieved to know they can take the day off from some tedious chores.
3. Taking medication
The third thing you should avoid during Chinese New Year is something Lin admitted her mom is very strict about. “Taking medicine on the day because she believes it’ll bring illness for the next year, and it’s a bad omen,” she explained.
Of course, it’s simply not possible for some people to avoid taking medication for a whole day, no matter what day of the year it is. Hong Kong’s The Standard noted that “your health comes first,” and it’s okay to do so if “you have to.” However, for general situations, the outlet agreed with Lin’s mom.
4. Eating congee
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The fourth superstition on Lin’s list is one that she personally finds difficult to stick to. “Avoid having congee, which is a savory rice-like porridge, because rice represents prosperity, and you want plenty of it,” she said. In other words, do not use up the rice on congee!
“Even though I love congee, it’s not allowed on New Year’s Day,” she lamented. According to the restaurant and culinary brand United Dumplings, “In many Asian cultures, rice is not just food; it’s a symbol of life and fertility. It’s often associated with prosperity, health, and wealth.” Brides Magazine put it in simpler terms. The reason we have a tradition of throwing rice on a happy couple at weddings is to wish them as much prosperity as possible.
5. Using knives or scissors
While this might sound like a helpful general safety precaution, there’s actually a much deeper meaning behind it. “Don’t use knives or scissors on the day because it looks like it represents lips quarreling,” Lin said, moving her fingers in a scissor-like motion to represent how much they look like lips moving. “Apparently, it’s gonna represent you having loads of arguments, and we don’t have time for that,” she continued.
The Confucius Institute for Scotland said there is another good reason to avoid using things like knives and scissors, though. If mishandled, they can obviously cause bleeding, which is a sign of bad luck.
6. Giving out red envelopes in odd numbers
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Exchanging red envelopes with money in them is a tradition on Chinese New Year. According to the Seattle Times, “In Chinese culture, the color red is associated with energy, happiness, and good luck.” You just want to be careful about the number of envelopes you hand out, Lin said.
“If you’re giving out red envelopes, don’t give them out in odd numbers because the Chinese believe that good things come in doubles,” she advised. Count up your red envelopes and make sure you have an even number. If not, it might be time to remove someone from your list or be even more generous and add one more person to it.
7. The number 4
“This is a general rule,” Lin said, “but avoid anything with the number four because the number four represents …” She then moved her hand across her throat in the symbol for death.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) explained that this superstition stems from the similarity between the Cantonese words for “four” and “death.” There may be evidence to back up this belief. “A previous study in the United States investigating psychological stress engendered by fear of the number four found more cardiac deaths in Chinese and Japanese people, compared with white Americans, on the fourth day of the month,” the NIH said.
If you want to stay lucky in the new year, avoiding the number four is a good idea.
8. Wearing black or white
If you don’t want to start the new year off on a negative note, you shouldn’t wear white or black. “It represents mourning,” Lin said. “And my mom always likes me to wear red.”
The National Library Board of Singapore stated, “Nowadays, white or black garments are commonly adopted as the general colors of mourning. It is also taboo to wear bright colors such as red or yellow during the mourning period.”
Wearing red is the exact opposite of mourning and is considered to be in bad taste during such a time, so it makes sense that Lin’s mother would want her to wear it on the Lunar New Year.
Of course, these superstitions don't necessarily hold true for every person who celebrates Chinese New Year.
Lin was quick to remind viewers that this was representative of her own family and by no means applied to “every single Chinese person or every Chinese family.”
“But it’s become almost like a family tradition now, and what my mum raised us on,” she concluded. And, really, who couldn’t use a little more good luck and fortune?
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.