Ok, most of us know about the DOs of CNY, like:-

  • say auspicious greetings / words when one passes the Mandarin Oranges on every visit
  • wear red or bright coloured clothes
  • give Hong Bao (if you are married) to people who are younger than you and who are not married, as a blessing
  • spring cleaning before Day 1 of CNY, an act of getting rid of the bad luck in the previous year
  • buy new clothes, shoes, bedsheets, pajamas….., a ‘Fresh’ start in the new year
  • decorate the house with as many red decorations as possible

Its the DON’Ts that hmmm…. I’m not too sure about. I remember there were much more than the handful I’ve listed below: –

  • cannot mention the word ‘death’, ‘die’, ‘dead’, ‘funeral’, ‘sick’, ‘unluckiness’….
  • cannot wear black clothings during visiting, because black is considered inauspicious
  • cannot eat porridge on the first day of CNY, because porridge is a meal for the poor, so it symbolizes that you’ll have poor luck for the new year
  • breaking a glass or anything that’s made of glass on the first 3 days of CNY is considered a signal of bad luck for the new year. To counter this, the person who broke the glass (accidentally) must say, “Luo Di Kai Hua” immediately. (direct translation: drop on the floor, flower blossoms)
  • cannot sweep the floor on the 1st day of CNY, ‘cos you’ll be sweeping away the good luck. I ever argued over this point with my grandma before. “Maybe its sweeping away the bad luck!” She told me, the new year always brings good luck, that’s why its important to have your house squeaky clean before the new year comes (spring cleaning). I used to think the invention of vacuum cleaners were inspired by a Chinese… *laugh*
  • this last one that I know is probably the Best for all the kids. Parents or Adults are suppose to control their anger and refrain from scolding or quarreling with anyone… So its a ‘no-holds-bars’ for children on the first day of CNY. This is the hardest of all, which I usually couldn’t follow through the first 24hours of the new year….*grin*

Do you know any other DON’Ts that are NOT listed here?