Cleaning or sweeping on New Year's Day is considered bad luck, as it's thought to sweep away good fortune.
Don't clean your house.
Looking for an excuse not to tidy up? According to Chinese lore, tidying on New Year's Day is thought to clean away the good luck you've stored up for the new year. Seriously, you're not supposed to sweep the house or even do your laundry.
People believe that if you do clean on January 1, you end up sweeping away all of the good luck that's stored away in your home for that coming year, so you wait until January 2 to complete your household chores like laundry, dishes and tidying up instead.
Sweeping, taking out the garbage or even washing your hair should be avoided. Lunar New Year festivals date back thousands of years and are rooted in legends and tradition.
🧺✨ There's a long-standing belief that washing clothes, dishes, or anything else on New Year's Day can wash away your luck for the entire year—or worse, symbolise washing away a loved one. It's a tradition rooted in folklore, and while not everyone believes it, many people choose to play it safe just in case.
Grapes and Other Fruit
In Mexico, grapes are eaten at midnight to symbolize the year ahead. In China and other Asian countries, oranges are prized for their round shape and gold-like hue as a representation of good fortune. Throughout the world, pomegranates, a symbol of fertility and birth, are eaten at the new year.
No washing or cutting your hair
It is believed that if you wash your hair on New Year's day, you'd also be washing away all your luck. It's somewhat similar to if you cut your hair, you'd be cutting your life shorter!
Don't Eat Bottom Feeders
Seafood like shrimp, cod, scallops, halibut, and bass are what are considered bottom-feeders, because they scavenge for food along the bottom of the ocean. If you don't want to be living off scraps in any part of your life in the upcoming year, you should avoid them.
You could be washing your luck away…at least according to a Korean superstition that says you shouldn't bathe or shower on New Year's day.
Don't Clean the House on New Year's Day - You will wash away any good luck coming your way.
Greens, Black-Eyed Peas, Cornbread, and Ham | Photo by Meredith. Even folks who aren't from the South go all in on eating black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day. Cook up an irresistibly soft, hearty dish that will also bring you good fortune.
According to folklore, if you wash clothes on New Year's Day, you'll be “washing for the dead” or washing a loved one away -- meaning someone in your household will die in the coming year. Get your laundry washed, dried, folded and put away by New Year's Eve.
Red: A Color of Luck and Energy. When it comes to New Year colors, red is often associated with luck, prosperity, and vitality.
Another group of foods to avoid on New Year's Day is foods that are all white in color, such as rice, bread, eggs, and tofu. According to ancient Chinese beliefs, white symbolizes death, so it is considered unlucky to eat on New Year's Day. Do not eat white foods on New Year's Day, and you won't get bad luck!
If you decide to drink, you should do so in moderation. Try to avoid having too many drinks, and try not to drink them in rapid succession.
Cleaning or sweeping on New Year's Day is considered bad luck, as it's thought to sweep away good fortune. The same goes for doing laundry or taking out the trash — avoid these chores if you want to keep your luck intact.
Chicken. Some people believe that consuming winged fowl like chicken around the new year will bring you bad luck. Their reasoning is that because poultry has wings, they will “fly away” with whatever good fortune you had in store.
New Year's Eve is an exceptionally long night for many cultures; if you must sleep, ensure it's right after midnight at the earliest. Sleeping through midnight could trap you in the previous year or taint your luck for the year to come.
It is said that washing your hair on Thursday will turn you into a beggar and take Goddess Laxmi away. Saturday - Saturday is the day of Shani Dev. It is believed that washing one's hair on Saturday will bring bad luck because it will bring tragedy and bad luck.
On the first day of the lunar year:
No washing clothes or hair or bathing. The first and second day of the lunar year is the birthday of the “Water God”, so you are not supposed to use water to show respect for the Water God. No sweeping the floor or taking out rubbish. If you do so, you are carrying your fortune out.
It's said that getting a haircut on this day brings good luck, hoping for a great year for all of us.
Las doce uvas de la suerte,” or “The twelve grapes of luck,” is a tradition that dates back to the 1800's in Spain. Revelers are supposed to eat 12 grapes in under a minute AND under a table to bring fortune and abundance every month of the year.
Why it matters: Black-eyed peas symbolize new beginnings. There's even a superstition that eating them ensures good luck for every day of the year ahead. Pair them with collard greens (representing money) and cornbread (for gold), and you've got a full plate of hope.