6 Essential Customs to Know for Visiting the Wife’s Family on the Second Day of Lunar New Year — Don’t Forget to Buy 2 Chickens for Newlyweds

▲ Illustration of visiting the wife’s family. (Photo / Eastern News)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The second day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally known as "visiting the wife’s family." On this day, married daughters return to their parents’ home with their spouses, making it an important occasion during the festival. While modern practices no longer restrict daughters to visiting only on the second day, this article shares traditional etiquette and taboos for such visits, for readers’ reference.

1. You Can’t Visit the Wife’s Family During the New Year Period
Apart from the second day, you also shouldn’t visit on New Year’s Eve, the first day, the fourth day, or the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, as it’s believed to take away the wife’s family’s good fortune.

2. Bring Gifts in Even Numbers When Visiting
When visiting the wife’s family, you must bring gifts to show filial respect to your parents. Whether it’s cash or items, they should all be in even numbers, as odd numbers are considered unlucky and may bring bad luck to the family for the year. However, the wife’s family should not keep all the gifts brought by their daughter — some should be returned when she goes back to her husband’s home.

3. Remember to Bring a Big Bag of Cookies
When visiting the wife’s family on the second day to offer New Year greetings, remember to prepare a big bag of cookies and candies to share with neighbors. If there are multiple daughters in the family, this should be done for each one — a subtle expression of the daughters’ longing for their hometown.

4. The Wife’s Family Should Only Host the Son-in-Law for Lunch
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, when hosting the son-in-law for a meal, it must be at lunchtime, and the daughter and her spouse should return to their own home before evening.

5. Send Clothes Back to the Wife’s Family
Some daughters who marry far away may not be able to return home for years. In such cases, they can send clothes they’ve worn back to their family as a way to express their desire to go home.

6. For Newlyweds, the Mother-in-Law Should Give 2 Chickens
For daughters who have been married for less than a year, after the meal on the second day, the mother-in-law should prepare two chickens for the daughter and son-in-law, wishing them an early birth of a child.