Why can't we visit relatives on the second day of the Chinese New Year? Can we travel far on the second day of the Chinese New Year?

The Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals in our country. From the first day to the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, people will celebrate the Spring Festival in various ways. They will also go from street to street to pay New Year's greetings and spend this wonderful festival with relatives and friends.

Why can't we visit relatives on the second day of the Chinese New Year?

The rule of not visiting relatives on the second day of the Lunar New Year comes from a folk legend: It is said that Japanese pirates invaded Xianyou during the Ming Dynasty. It was New Year's Eve, and some villagers fled to the mountains for refuge and escaped the disaster. It was not until the second day of the Lunar New Year that everyone returned home. It was a horrible sight and they were busy collecting the bodies. Since the first day was an important day, the funeral was not announced until the next day, which was the second day of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, this day is also called "Visiting the Dead Day." Since then, the tradition of not visiting other people’s homes on the second day of the first lunar month has continued to this day.
The older generation in particular is very particular about it and has been following this custom. They don’t visit other people’s homes to avoid it, for fear of bringing bad luck. But if you have visited and paid New Year's greetings on the first day of the New Year, it will be fine to come again on the second day.

Can I travel far away on the second day of the Chinese New Year?

You can travel far away on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but generally speaking, you should not travel far away on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year .
Generally speaking, on the second day of the Lunar New Year, it is taboo for a daughter to bring an odd number of gifts when she returns to her parents' home, as odd numbers are traditionally considered unlucky, and the gifts a son-in-law brings back to his parents' home must be in pairs. It is taboo to do laundry on the first and second day of the Lunar New Year. Legend has it that these two days are the birthdays of the Water God, so do not do laundry.

The customs and practices of the second day of the Lunar New Year

The second day of the New Year is also called the beginning of the year, which means that the real New Year's greetings begin from this day. People visit relatives and friends with gifts such as three kinds of meat, glutinous rice cakes, and fried dumplings. In the Shatian area of ​​Shaoguan, people kill chickens to start the new year, which means full of vitality. The second day of the first lunar month is the day when daughters and sons-in-law return to their parents’ home, that is, the sons-in-law pay New Year’s greetings to their parents-in-law, commonly known as “Welcoming the Son-in-law Day”. It is believed among the people that a married daughter cannot return to her parents’ home on the first day of the New Year, as doing so will bankrupt her family. She can only return to her parents’ home after the second day of the New Year. There is a folk proverb like this: "A daughter with both parents will have relatives to come and reunite with her on the second and third day of the New Year; a daughter without either father or mother will have relatives to miss her, so her parents' family will not send anyone to pick her up.