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1. Deep cleaning
Although keeping your teeth in tip-top condition is always recommended, we’re talking about doing a deep cleaning throughout your home. Sweeping and wiping away the dust of the past year is a way to say farewell to the old and welcome all of the good fortune that is coming your way during the new year. Don’t worry, it’s also frowned upon to clean during the first three days of the new year so even though this sounds tiring, you’ll be able to rest soon enough.
2. Put up decorations
After giving your home a rigorous clean, put up red decorations around the place because red is the colour of good luck in the Chinese culture, which is why almost everything you see regarding Chinese New Year will be red. These decorations usually come in the form of couplets (two lines of poetry usually hung vertically on the sides of a door frame), paper cut-outs, and lanterns. A very common decoration is a paper cutout of the 福 character (meaning good fortune) which is displayed in windows. Ever notice that this decoration is usually put up upside down? That’s because the Chinese character for upside-down (倒) sounds like the character for arrive (到) so therefore if you put the 福 character upside down, it means that good fortune is arriving.
3. Buy new clothes
Good news for shopaholics! In order to set the proper tone for the Year of the Rat, it is necessary to buy a new set of clothes (all the way down to your underwear) and wear it on New Year’s Day. This is to symbolise having excess wealth to buy new things in the coming year and making a fresh start. It is also said that the new clothes should not be white or black since these colours are often associated with death. An excuse to shop? Don’t mind if we do.
4. Eat, eat, and more eating
There is a lot of eating to be done during this period and it all starts on New Year’s Eve when the whole family get together for a reunion dinner. Bringing the family together for this occasion symbolises unity for the coming year. So what exactly should you be eating during the Chinese New Year period? Check out the goodies below.