Why can't you go back to your parents' home on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year? 18 New Year taboos

In traditional Chinese customs, there are things you can and cannot do every day during the Spring Festival. For example, married daughters usually return to their parents' home on the second day of the New Year, but cannot return to their parents' home on the first day of the New Year. So why can’t we go back to our parents’ home on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year?

Why can't I go back to my parents' home on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year?

The fourth day of the Lunar New Year is the day to welcome the Kitchen God, so you cannot go back to your parents’ home;
Because it is said that the fourth day of the Lunar New Year is the day to welcome the Kitchen God, relevant matters need to be prepared at the husband's house, as the Kitchen God will check the household registration. However, there are also some areas in our country that have the custom of returning to one's parents' home on the fourth day of the New Year. It is said that this custom exists in Wafangdian in the northeast. People will choose to return to their parents' home on the fourth day of the New Year, and the husband will go with them to pay New Year's greetings to his father-in-law and mother-in-law. It is called "Son-in-law Festival" or "Return to Ning" by the people.

18 New Year's Taboos

1. Avoid touching needles and money
2. Avoid using an axe to chop wood
3. Avoid borrowing money
4. Avoid hitting furniture (plates, bowls, wine utensils and other fragile items)
5. Do not take naps during the day
6. Married daughters cannot return to their parents’ home
7. Avoid calling others’ names to wake them up
8. Avoid greeting people who are still sleeping.
9. Avoid taking medicine
10. Avoid using knives and scissors
11. Avoid dumping sewage, garbage, or sweeping the floor.
12. Avoid seeing a doctor, otherwise it will symbolize that you will be sick all year round. Doctors also avoid seeing patients in the first month of the lunar year, as they think it is unlucky.
13. Avoid eating porridge. If you eat porridge on this day, you will be caught in the rain when you go out throughout the year, and heavy rain may even wash away the fields. In addition, eating porridge is a symbol of poverty. If you eat porridge on the first day of the New Year, you will probably live a poor life thereafter.
14. Clothes and bedding cannot be changed or washed.
15. Avoid wearing out new clothes. It is unlucky for children to wear out their new clothes in the first month of the year.
16. It is taboo to shave your head. There is a folk saying: "If you don't shave your head in the first month of the lunar year, your uncle will die."
17. Don’t give odd numbers as New Year’s money. When elders give new year’s money to younger generations, the amount must be an even number, otherwise it is unlucky.
18. Avoid saying unlucky words such as "broken", "death", "illness", "lose" and "defeat". If you accidentally violate the taboo, you should avoid possible ominous consequences by spitting or saying "children's words are innocent".