To help you enjoy a successful year filled with luck and prosperity, here are 5 dos and don'ts to pay attention to during the festive season.
Share New Year greetings
New Year greetings are a great way to spread cheer and goodwill among those around you. A standard wish during the season is "Xin Nian Kuai Le", which means Happy New Year. Or you can bless someone with "happiness and prosperity" using the phrase "Gong Xi Fa Cai" in Mandarin, or "Kung Hei Fat Choi" in Cantonese.
Buy new clothes and wear red
What better way to welcome in the New Year than with a fresh look. Traditionally, those hoping to start the year with a bang may often splurge on new clothes from head to toe. If you're really feeling the festive spirit, it's even better to wear the lucky color red.
Don't break anything
Breaking any object – for example, a bowl, plate, glass, or vase – during the Lunar New Year period is considered a harbinger of bad luck as it symbolizes disruption. To remedy the situation, either: Wrap the fragments of the shattered object in red paper or cloth and throw it away on the fifth day of the new lunar year, or, say the phrase "Sui Sui Ping An". The words for "year" and "broken" sound similar in Mandarin, so saying them together is believed to expel bad luck.
Don't get angry
Whatever you do during the Lunar New Year holidays is believed to set the tone for the 12 months ahead. As such, harboring negative emotions toward another person during this time could signal a year of turbulent relationships. If you want to enjoy a happy year ahead, avoid getting into arguments during the festive period.
Don't sweep or clean the house on the first day of the New Year
People tend to give their homes a thorough cleaning before the Lunar New Year – specifically on the 28th day of the last month – to symbolize the removal of bad luck from the previous year. Be sure to put the brooms and mops away on the first day, as doing any cleaning is believed to wipe away incoming good fortune.