Monday, February 6th marks the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Which means I've been trying to keep to my family's tradition of cleaning the house, fresh haircuts for the boys, and setting mandarin oranges around the house for good luck. Now that the boys are older, they love learning about these traditions - and superstitions like these New Year's Day taboos:
- No sweeping/cleaning or you will sweep away your luck and fortune
- No crying children as this will bring bad luck
- Don't wash your hair or you will wash away luck and fortune
- Don't wear white, black or blue (signifies mourning). Wear something new and something red for good luck
There are several more "rules" but these are the big ones I grew up following. And of course there's the food. As with so many things in the Chinese culture, certain foods are more auspicious and lucky. This year, our New Year's Feast will include:
Long Noodles (Momofuku's Ginger Scallion Noodles) represents long life
Soy Sauce Eggs (Momofuku's Soy Sauce Eggs adapted by Catherine Newman) for prosperity
Lion's Head for family/togetherness
Whole Chinese Broccoli for long life
Almond Cookies for wealth
From our family to yours, gong hay fat choy!
