The origin of the saying that getting a haircut in the first month of the lunar year will kill your uncle. It is a misunderstanding that you should not get a haircut in the first month of the lunar year.

Folk proverb: Don’t shave your head in the first month of the lunar year, or your uncle will die. So, how did the saying "getting a haircut in the first month of the lunar year will cause your uncle to die" come about? Let’s take a look at the origin of the story about uncle’s death due to a haircut in the first month of the lunar year.

The origin of "getting a haircut in the first month of the lunar year will kill your uncle"

The saying “Don’t shave your head in the first month of the lunar calendar, or your uncle will die” originally came from the Qing army’s entry into the pass. The Han people agreed not to shave their heads in the first month of the lunar calendar to express their longing for the Ming Dynasty, which meant “missing the old times”. However, “missing the old times” was mistakenly translated as “death of uncle” and eventually the rumor spread and became the folk taboo of “Don’t shave your head in the first month of the lunar calendar, or your uncle will die”.

Record of "Uncle died due to haircut in the first month of the lunar year"

The answer to the mystery of the custom is revealed in Volume 2 of Ye County Chronicles published in the 24th year of the Republic of China: "I heard from the elders in the village that the Qing Dynasty issued an edict to shave their heads, which was implemented in the first month of the fourth year of Shunzhi. When the Ming Dynasty changed its system, the people thought of the old emperor because of shaving their heads, so they said 'thinking of the past'.