Why can't we visit relatives on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year? What is the order of visiting relatives during the Spring Festival?

The Chinese New Year lasts from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival on January 15th of the lunar calendar. At this time, every household puts up couplets, stays up all night, and welcomes the new year. In addition, we also have to abide by some customs and rules.

Why can't we visit relatives on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year?

The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is also called the Day of Eliminating Poverty. You cannot visit relatives and friends to avoid bringing poverty to them.

The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is the birthday of the God of Wealth, and everyone should welcome the God of Wealth. The fifth day of the first lunar month is commonly known as Po Wu, and it is a day to "drive away the five poverty", including "poverty of wisdom, poverty of learning, poverty of literature, poverty of life, and poverty of social relations". People get up at dawn, set off firecrackers and clean the place. Set off firecrackers from inside to outside, while walking towards the door. It is said that all unlucky things will be blasted away. On this day, the common custom among the people is to eat dumplings, commonly known as "pinching the villain's mouth". On this day, every household eats dumplings, and the chopping board must make a clanging sound so that the neighbors can hear it, to show that they are chopping the "villain".

However, with the progress of society, many of the old customs have lost their meaning. However, we cannot ban them across the board. We should give them "respect" and gradually abandon them through civilized advocacy. People should be selective in inheriting the New Year customs, and change the Spring Festival from "focusing on rituals" to "focusing on culture" so as not to affect people's normal lives. However, some New Year customs that are actually "bad habits" are being continuously abandoned.

What is the order of visiting relatives during the Spring Festival?

1. New Year’s Day: Younger generations pay New Year’s greetings to older generations.

New Year's greetings usually start at home. On the morning of the first day of the New Year, after getting up, the younger generation should first greet the elders and wish them good health, longevity and all the best. After receiving the greetings, the elders will distribute the "lucky money" prepared in advance to the younger generations.

2. The second day of the Lunar New Year: The son-in-law must visit his father-in-law and mother's home to pay New Year's greetings.

The son-in-law must visit his father-in-law and mother's house and must bring gifts. The nephew goes to his grandmother's house, and the daughter goes to her parents' house with her son-in-law. There is a saying among the folks about this custom: "The first and second days are the best time to celebrate the festival when the moon is charming, and the third and fourth days are the best time to celebrate the festival." After entering the door, you should kowtow three times to the Buddha statue, the images of ancestors, and the tablets, and then kneel down to pay homage to the elders in turn. You can stay to eat and play.

3. I start visiting other relatives after the third day of the Lunar New Year.

People start visiting other relatives after the third day of the Lunar New Year. Since everyone starts visiting relatives from the third day, you must pay attention to the time arrangement when visiting relatives at this time. The first thing is to confirm whether the host is at home. Secondly, it is not advisable to visit early in the morning or late at night.