Don’t Wash Your Hair or Clothes on New Year’s Day. Washing is thought to wash away wealth and blessings. Postpone laundry and hair-washing until after the first day. By following these traditions and avoiding the taboos, you can usher in a year full of prosperity, happiness, and good luck. Wishing you a joyous and auspicious Chinese New One of the most well-known beliefs about Chinese New Year is that you should not wash your hair on the first day of the lunar year – in this case, on the 29th – as it could “wash away” the Chinese New Year is just around the corner. To ensure that you start your new year on the right foot, here is a list of things that you should and should not do on Chinese New Year. 1. Washing and cutting hair Click to see What to Eat at Chinese New Year to Bring Good Luck? 5. Avoid washing hair and getting a haircut. Hair must not be washed on Chinese New Year's Day. In Mandarin, hair (发, fa) has the same pronunciation (and indeed is the same character) as fa in facai (发财), which means 'to become wealthy'. Therefore, it is seen as not a good Karen Yee of San Francisco, says she doesn't cut or wash her hair on New Year's Day. "Hair and luck in Chinese are homonyms," she said. "So if you cut or wash your hair on the day of the Lunar New In Chinese New Year, people around the world engage in various customs and traditions to ring in the new year with prosperity and good fortune. However, among the many superstitions surrounding New Year's Eve, one question that often arises is whether it is bad luck to wash your hair on this auspicious night. People avoid washing their hair on Lunar New Year because it’s believed to wash away good fortune. This belief stems from a linguistic similarity in Mandarin, with the word for hair (fa, 发) sharing both the same pronunciation and first character of the word for fortune (facai, 发财). That has evolved over the years into the superstition Don’t wash or cut your hair on the first day of Chinese New Year (Photography: Element5 Digital via Pexels) On the first day of Chinese New Year, you must not wash or cut your hair. In Cantonese, hair is pronounced as faat (髮), which is the same as the word for “getting rich” (發). If you wash your hair, it means that you’re washing “My grandparents used to tell us not to wash hair on the first day of CNY as it symbolises ‘washing away your fortune’,” shares one Singaporean Chinese New Year in 2025 falls on Jan 29 “On the first two days of the New Year, we do not wash our hair as it will wash away the good luck. In the first 15 days, we can wash our hair once with pomelo leaves, then washing hair becomes normal again. We just have to avoid days 1,2,7, and 15,” Debbie explains. “Lunar New Year celebrations last 15 days, and each day is special. Here’s a fun list of dos and don’ts so you can enjoy the Year of the Ox in the proper manner. stroke of midnight on Lunar New Year eve, February 11. day of the New Year. The Chinese Can you wash your hair on New Year’s Eve? Can I wash my hair on New Year’s? According to many cultures, washing your hair on New Year’s is believed to wash away all your luck, so it is better to avoid washing anything on the holiday to be safe. Should you do washing on New Can you wash your hair on New Year’s Eve? Read More » Washing your hair on the first and second day of the new year is believed to be bad luck – it symbolises washing away your fortune. Not a very auspicious start to 2024! The same goes for cutting your hair. Some of those Chinese New Year taboos will only sustain for first few days of the festival, while others may be kept till the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, or even for a whole month. Hereunder are 16 things you should never do during the Chinese New Year. The searches for New Year's Eve dos and don'ts surge and HOW. People often ask if it is a good thing to wash your hair on New Year's Eve or if one must clean their houses at all when it comes to the last day of the year. 🛍️ New Year’s Eve 2021 Rituals for Good Luck: Can You Wash Your Hair on NYE? What Is the Kiss Superstition? Everything You Need To Know. Can you wash hair on second day of Chinese New Year? Avoid washing hair and getting a haircut. Hair must not be washed on Chinese New Year’s Day. In Mandarin, hair (发, fa) has the same pronunciation (and indeed is the same character) as fa in facai (发财), which means ‘to become wealthy’. Some people wash their hair before or after Chinese New Year Eve, while others may opt for a quick rinse without using soap or shampoo to avoid washing away the good luck: Regional variations: The belief of not washing hair on Chinese New Year Eve is widely observed in many Chinese communities around the world: Modern interpretation Can we wash hair on first day of Chinese New Year? On the first day of Chinese New Year, you must not wash or cut your hair. In Cantonese, hair is pronounced as faat (髮), which is the same as the word for “getting rich” (發). If you wash your hair, it means that you’re washing your own fortune away for the coming 364 days. Can you wash your hair on New Year’s Eve? If for any reason a gift is to be given this day, leave it in a car or out building New Year’s Eve. — Some cultures believe one should not wash his or her hair on New Year’s Day because it will wash away the good fortune of that person. 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.
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