Prosperity into our House part2

Prosperity into our House part2

Still in the season of welcoming the Chinese New Year. Today I shall share the activity during Chinese New Year from Day 1 to Day 15.

For Chinese, celebrating New Year has their own traditions and breaking it may means bad omen or rejecting good luck.

Day 1:

The first day is the most special day as people are very happy in welcoming the New Year. “Gong Xi Fa Chai” (Mandarin) or “Kiong Hee Fat Choy” (Cantonese) are said to one another as greetings. The words literally mean Happy Prosper. In ancient China, it is spoken Happy to prosper because it is the time to start planting corps and you will be prosper by the time of harvest. It is commonly translated as “Happy Chinese New Year”.

In the morning, children should greet their parents “Gong Xi Fa Chai” and usually their parents will give “Hong Bao” which means “red pocket” to them. The red pocket usually contains money. That’s why children are very happy dyring Chinese New Year.

Not all people can give hongbao. Only one who has married can give hongbao. Giving hongbao to unmarried relatives is compulsory of those who have married.

The first day of celebrating Chinese New Year is always by visiting the elder relatives’ houses and saying “Gong Xi Fa Chai”.

At the first day, there are several taboo which makes elderly extremely angry if done:
1. No housework activity including sweeping the floor, washing dishes, clothes and hairs. It will wash away all the luck of the house and family.
2. No use of cutting utensils such as scissors, knives, nail-cutter, or other objects. This includes no killing of animals.
3. No breaking objects like plates, cups, glasses and others. This would mean bad omen for the year. Some families are using plastic cooking utensils to avoid breaking them.
4. No harsh and rude words and No sour faces. Chinese New Year is a happy event and it should be welcome with joy, happy and cheer. Harsh words and sour faces may make lucks away.


Day 2:
This day is especially for married daughter to visit her maiden home (her birth parent’s house). She should take her husband and children to visit. Why shouldn’t it on the first day? Because ancient Chinese culture believes that married daughter has the obligations to visit her husband’s elderly relatives.

For big families, one day is not enough to visit relatives. Second day is used to visit relatives who are not really close to the family. For those who own business, they should choose either to open the business on this day or after the 3rd day.

Day3:
It is not suitable to open business on this day because according to superstitions, opening business on this day will have bad lucks for the entire year.

Day 4:
Opening business on this day is not bad either. You can invite lion dance to the house for clearing the bad wards, bad spirits away. We usually hang red pocket inside a head of lettuce to feed the Lion as it eats lettuce and the red pocket is the fee for the dance.

Day 5:
This is the best day since this is the birthday of “God of Prosperity” or “Chai Shen”. People go to temples to wish for prosperity from the God.

Day6-8:
This is free day. We visits friends and opening stores.

Day 9:
This is the birthday of Jade emperor and Fujian people celebrate this as the first day of Chinese New Year. It is an old story that Fujian province are attacked sometime before the Chinese New Year and due to that reason, they cannot celebrate the new year. They hid themselves in the forest of sugar-cane trees. At the ninth day, they are freed and celebrate the Chinese New Year. They use sugar-cane as the offering to the Jade emperor since Fujian people believe that they are saved because of Him.

Day10-14:
Still in the nature of Chinese New Year but people are slowing down. They are preparing to celebrate the 15th day of Chinese New Year.

Day 15:
Every Chinese people are waiting for this day as it is the first Full Moon in the year. In the evening, people will take lanterns, eat dumplings and see the moon. Families are eating together on this day as well. They are also celebrating the last day of Chinese New year celebration.

Prosperity into Our House

Prosperity into the house

Yay... I finally start to write my own blog. After reading others blogs all this time, it is time for me to write my own. Hope everybody can enjoy.


My first topic is about the upcoming Chinese New Year festivals. People especially Chinese throughout the world are celebrating the Chinese New Year every year. It represents the beginning of spring in China. It usually falls in the month of late January to mid February. This year (2010) it falls on February 14, the same day as the Valentine's Day. :D

Some Chinese do not really understand and applied the customs and traditions of celebrating Chinese New Year in their house. So here, I will try to share some of the traditions and customs to be done and the meaning behind it. What is New Year without the traditions to follow..?


What to do before the festivals:
1. You need to start cleaning your house few days before the festival.
Make everything fresh-looked, clean and tidy before celebrating the spring festival as it is the day of joy of welcoming the season to start planting corps. How can we celebrate with dirty and messy house?
There is a saying about the prohibition to clean the house during Chinese New Year especially at the first day. It brings bad luck. Cleaning the house would mean to sweep all the prosperity away and it will bring bad fortune to the family for the entire year.

2. Decorating the house with red ornaments.
Chinese believe that red can drive the bad omens away. It starts with a story from ancient China that use red color to exile the bad omens. So decorating the house with ornaments of red color such as lanterns, accessories, etc are meant to banish the bad and let in the good.

Chinese would prepare red clothes to wear at the first day of the year with the same intentions.

3. Clear all your debts
Debts or payable should be cleared before the Chinese New Year. This is actually to avoid people knocking your house asking for money during Chinese New Year. It brings bad luck as you will need to spend/waste money at the very first day of the year.

4. Keep away all brooms and dustpan.
No brooms and dustpan means no sweeping floor which means no “sweeping fortunes away”.


After you did all the above things, then you should start preparing for the biggest events of the year, Chinese New Year eve. This is the most important occasion where one whole family should gather together and have dinner together. Families of married daughter are not included in this. The menu is very special and each dish represents meanings for entire year.

What meals for Chinese new year Eve:
Actually there are many kinds of foods to represent goods for new year depending on the races (Cantonese, Mandarin, etc) but I can provide the general foods that every Chinese should be serving:

1. Fish
Fish should be cooked whole. There cannot be broken heads, tails, or other parts of body. Knives should not be used to cut fish into several pieces as well. Fish have the same pronunciation as "abundance" in Mandarin language. So cutting fish into pieces or broken part of body should ruin the family abundance of wealth, health and others.

2. Noodle
Noodles are not allowed to be cut as well, the longer the noodle the better. When there is/are old people in the family, noodle is a compulsory dish. It brings longevity to the elderly and health for youngsters.

3. Dumpling
Dumpling is fried until golden color. Dumpling takes the shapes of ancient Chinese gold, so it brings prosperity to the family. It is usually eaten around midnight.

4. New Year cake
The New Year cake is made sweet and sticky. It is usually eaten by the family and some are given to relatives and friends. It shows good relationship to each other to be sticky and sweet.


During the Chinese New Year eve, family should eat the dinner slowly. No need to rush because it is the only time where all family can gather together and eat on the same table. The longer the dinner time, the better it is.

I shall come with the traditions at Chinese New Year day1 to day15 ceremonial soon.