AI Vibes: Spring Festival dos and don'ts!

Don't sweep up, or take out the bins, on New Year's Day

Sweeping symbolizes sweeping luck and wealth away from your home.

Do tidy up before midnight on New Year's Eve

It is said to help rid the home of the old and welcome in the new.

Don't wash your hair on New Year's Day

It could be seen as washing your fortune away. Because the word for hair (發, fa) has the same pronunciation and character as facai (發財), which means "to become wealthy."

Do decorate your house

Popular decorations include red lanterns, as red is a lucky color and said to ward off bad luck, and the character 福 (Fu), which means "good fortune."

Don't wear white or black

People traditionally wear white or black to funerals so both are typically seen as colors of mourning.

Do wear red for luck

As already mentioned, red is a lucky color in China.

Don't eat porridge for breakfast

In the olden days, porridge (rice mixed with water) was seen as a poor man's food, and eating it for breakfast on the first day of the new year could bring poverty into the coming year.

Do eat dumplings, fish and other traditional foods

The more dumplings you eat, the richer you will become in the New Year.

In southern China, tangyuan, glutinous rice balls with sweet fillings such as black sesame and peanut, are said to signify family togetherness and completeness.

(Cao Mengfan, as an intern, also contributed to this story.)