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Lunar New Year traditions and superstitions the Yahoo team follows

A woman is seen sweeping the floor. (PHOTO: Getty Images)
A woman is seen sweeping the floor. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

Say goodbye to the Year of The Ox, and let's say hello to the Year of the Tiger!

This year's Lunar New Year begins on 1 February, thus marking the start of the 15-day festival in Asia.

As we are still on high alert with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have chosen to stay home and adhere to the five-pax ruling. However, this doesn't mean we are skipping the traditions and so-called superstitions that have been put into practice to ensure luck and prosperity are bestowed upon us!

Here are some dos and don'ts that the Yahoo team has been following before and after the Lunar New Year.

I love the Lunar New Year festivities but don't subscribe much to the superstitions. However, if there is one superstition I absolutely love about CNY, it has got to be no cleaning the house on the first two days of the Lunar New Year! Surely, you won't want to sweep away all the good luck, do you? But first, bak kwa. The dust can wait!Cadence Loh, Lifestyle Editor

(On practising all-year-round): I can only wear my shoes outside of my house and not inside - not just because of cleanliness issues - but because I believe that spirits might follow me INTO my house if I wear shoes inside... so if I leave them at the door, they can't follow me in! HAHAHA.Roy Koh, Business Lead

(PHOTO: Getty Images)
(PHOTO: Getty Images)

It's in recent years that I've adopted the habit of eating vegetarian food on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Eating vegetarian sounds like 'chi zai' in Mandarin, which sounds vaguely like "eating troubles". So this makes me feel like I'm eating away the troubles of the year!Stephanie Zheng, Lifestyle Editor

I love buying books, and I have to remind myself every year to stock up books before the Lunar New Year because is it bad luck to buy them during the 15-day festival. The Chinese word for book is (shū), which means 'lose' in English. Also, bestowing others with books is like wishing bad luck upon them, so I'm definitely skipping this altogether!Reta Lee, Editor-In-Chief

Staycation has always been a popular choice, especially during the CNY period. When I stay in a hotel, I always knock on the door three times before entering; it's a gesture to show "please excuse me for disturbing" in case "something" was already in there.Blake Ng, Senior Audience Analyst

If I see coins on the floor, I will pick them up, put them into an angbao and carry it with me for good luck and wealth. This coin-picking superstition is very varied, though – some say picking them up will bring bad luck, some say otherwise. Regardless, it's taboo to pick up money or angbao during the seventh month, so I will try to avoid that as well (it's complicated, I know).Yian Lu, Contributor

I tend not to sweep the house on the first day of the Chinese New Year. Doing so would 'sweep' the good luck away in the year – this is 'huat' Chinese folks believe.Vernon Lee, Senior Editor

I don’t owe money past eve of CNY; I want to clear all debts before the new year and start the year on a fresh and positive note. Also, I usually stay up to 2-3am the night before CNY to shou sui (守岁). Lastly, I make sure every piece of clothing from inside out is new on the first day of Chinese New Year!Wenting, Contributor

I cannot use expletives on the first day of the Lunar New Year (not that I use expletives at all, I am a very well-mannered and cultured person) because again, it sets the tone for the rest of the year, it brings negative energy, that sort of thing. I'm quite a stickler for this, but there was once I dropped something and went ****!!!Marcus Goh, Contributor