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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 Let’s delve into the intriguing world of Hair Washing Superstitions and explore what to avoid during Chinese New Year to ensure a prosperous start to the lunar new year. As the dawn of Lunar New Year 2025 approaches on Jan. 29, the festive season sets the stage for a 15-day celebration steeped in tradition across China and various Asian By cutting your hair, it can symbolise cutting off your prosperity. In normal cases, that’s already a pretty bad situation. Right before Chinese New Year though? It’s not a sign that bodes well for the rest of your year, so let’s stay away from those hair salons during this time. 6. No negative emotions 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 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 thing to "wash one's fortune away" at the beginning of the New Year. One of the most well-known superstitions tied to Lunar New Year is not washing your hair. 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 People should not get their hair cut during the first lunar month, for it indicates the death of their uncle (mother's brother), and of course it is a thing you should never do during the Chinese New Year. Although it sounds absurd, people are glad to abide by this tradition. 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 365 days. Leave your hair as it is on the first day of the New Year. The Chinese character for hair is the same first character in the word for prosper. This means washing or cutting it off is seen as The word for “hair” and “fortune” share the same character (发). Therefore, the logic is that by washing or cutting your hair, you are cutting off good fortune and luck for the rest of the year. Another large portion of homonym-based beliefs is in food and the spoken-wishings around the New Year. 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. Some of It is bad luck to cut anything during the 15 day Chinese New Year period, hence the Chinese tend to go for a haircut before the last day of the Lunar year so that they will not look unkempt, and also because a clean, well maintained appearance matters to usher in a prosperous new year. It’s to welcome the new year with a smile and let fortune and happiness continue on. The Spring Festival also involves somber ceremonies to wish for a good harvest. Strict rules and restrictions go without saying. To help you know what customs and rules to follow, here are the top 10 taboos to avoid during the Chinese New Year. 7. New clothes for the new year Got your new clothes for CNY? The colour code for CNY? Bright is right. Back in the day, colours like black and white were a no-go during Chinese New Year, since they were traditionally associated with funerals. Instead, vibrant hues, especially red, were the preferred choice – it’s the colour of luck and 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’. Washing and cutting hair 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'. The language expert explained that this was because the word for hair in Chinese sounded very similar to the word for rich. 'You don't want to wash your fortune away at the beginning of the New It is bad luck to cut anything during the 15 day Chinese New Year period, hence the Chinese tend to go for a haircut before the last day of the Lunar year so that they will not look unkempt, and also because a clean, well maintained appearance matters to usher in a prosperous new year. Cutting your hair before the new year helps you rid yourself of last year’s impurities, and enables new growth. Decorate the House Decorating your home with items resembling luck and fortune like red couplets, gold coins, money cats, and dragons will help make the new luck and fortune coming into your home feel more welcome. In Mandarin, 'hair' (fa, 发) sounds like 'wealth' (fa cai, 发财), so it is believed that people should not cut their hair in the two weeks of the festivities, or they would also be cutting away all the prosperity that the celebration brings! The taboo also stands that we should not wash our hair.
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