No napping, no throwing out trash – you must know the ultimate list of “15 taboos on the first day of the Lunar New Year”

▲ One of the taboos on the first day of the Lunar New Year is that you cannot sleep in. (Photo / Illustration / Daguan Images)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

As the Lunar New Year holiday begins, amid all the festive cheer, there are still many traditional customs and taboos to be mindful of. Among them, the most numerous are the taboos for the first day of the year. ETtoday EBC News Cloud has compiled a list of 15 taboos for the first day of the Lunar New Year. Whether you believe in them or not, they can serve as a reference.

Taboo 1: No congee for breakfast
Some families accustomed to having Chinese-style breakfasts often start their day with a bowl of hot congee. But on the first day of the Lunar New Year, switch to dry rice instead. The ancients believed that only poor people ate congee—if you eat it on this day, you'll be poor all year; whereas eating dry rice symbolizes wealth throughout the year.

Taboo 2: Don’t call someone by name to wake them up
On the first day of the year, remember not to call someone by their name to get them out of bed—doing so is believed to mean they’ll be rushed or urged to do things all year long.

Taboo 3: Don’t give New Year greetings to someone who is still sleeping
Be sure to wait until the person wakes up before offering New Year wishes; otherwise, there's a saying that they could end up bedridden for the entire year.

▲ On the first day of the Lunar New Year, don’t cook fresh rice. (Photo / Illustration / Daguan Images)

Taboo 4: Don’t cook new rice
The ancients believed that on the first day of the year, you should eat leftover dishes from New Year’s Eve, which signifies that last year’s food was so abundant, there’s still some left over for the new year.

Taboo 5: Don’t take a shower, wash your hair, or do laundry in the morning
This is to avoid washing away wealth and good fortune. Another belief is that the water gods’ birthdays fall on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, so doing laundry during these two days might offend them.

Taboo 6: Married daughters shouldn’t return to their parents’ home
Because returning to your parents’ house on the first day is believed to bring financial strain upon them, as if eating them out of house and home.

▲ If possible, also avoid picking up a broom. (Photo / pakutaso image bank)

Taboo 7: Don’t use a broom
According to custom, the first day of the year is the broom’s birthday. Using a broom on this day is said to invite bad luck.

Taboo 8: Don’t take a nap or sleep in
Taking a nap on the first day of the Lunar New Year is believed to not only affect your career luck but also make you lazy all year.

Taboo 9: Don’t take medicine
There’s a saying that if you take medicine on the first day, you’ll be taking it all year, and your illness won’t be cured. So unless it’s serious, try to avoid taking any medication.

Taboo 10: Don’t let others reach into your pockets
Try to avoid letting others directly reach into your pockets to take something out, because it suggests that someone will be taking your money all year long.

Taboo 11: Don’t break bowls, mirrors, or other glass or ceramic items
This is to prevent breaking wealth or luck during the New Year. But if you accidentally break something, wrap the fragments in red paper, silently say “peace every year,” then place it on the altar and dispose of it only after the fifth day of the New Year.

▲ Trash also can’t be thrown out until the fifth day. (Photo / pakutaso image bank)

Taboo 12: The use of knives or killing living things is prohibited
Because knives are considered weapons that can butcher livestock, and they also carry inauspicious meanings associated with misfortune and destruction.

Taboo 13: Pay attention to the order when sweeping the floor at home
Although it’s said that brooms shouldn’t be used on the first day of the New Year, if cleaning is absolutely necessary, you must sweep from the area closest to the door inward, symbolizing sweeping wealth and treasure into the home.

Taboo 14: No throwing out garbage before the fifth day
According to traditional customs, garbage produced from the first to the fourth day of the New Year is regarded as “prosperity.” Therefore, garbage cannot be thrown out before the fifth day. It should all be cleaned up on the fifth day to signify sending poverty out the door.

Taboo 15: Eating the head or tail of a fish is forbidden
Fish dishes are a must-have on the New Year’s dining table, but the fish head and tail must be left untouched, symbolizing the auspicious saying “May you have surplus year after year.”

★The image is a copyrighted photo provided exclusively to 《ET News Cloud》 by Dajic Photography. No website, newspaper, or TV station may reproduce any part or all of it without permission from Dajic Photography.