Customs and taboos on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year What not to do on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year

As we all know, the Spring Festival is the most lively traditional festival of the year. During the Spring Festival, every household is filled with joy, peace and liveliness. However, on the fourth day of the New Year, there are still many etiquette and taboos.

Customs and taboos on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year

1. Throwing away poverty on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year <br/>There is a custom in many places on the first day of the Lunar New Year, that is, you cannot take out the garbage for the whole day, but some people do not take out the garbage for three days after the New Year, so there will be more garbage piled up at home. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, you must throw away the garbage at home, and also clean out all the old and worn-out clothes that are not worn at home, commonly known as "throwing away poverty". Throwing all the bad and poor things out of the door indicates that there will be a new look in the new year and life will get better and better.
2. Welcoming the Kitchen God on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year <br/>The fourth day of the Lunar New Year is the day to welcome the Kitchen God back to the people, so on this day every household must stay at home, prepare rich fruits, burn incense, light candles and set off firecrackers to welcome him.
3. Welcoming five gods on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year <br/>Welcoming five traveling gods on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year is an important custom, which later evolved into welcoming five gods of wealth. After closing for the Spring Festival, businesses usually reopen on the fifth day of the first lunar month, so everyone invites the Five Gods of Wealth on the fourth night for good luck.
4. Eat Zheluo on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year <br/>Zheluo is a hodgepodge of leftover food from the New Year holidays. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family gathers together to eat Zheluo and clean up the New Year's goods.

What not to do on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year

1. Avoid breaking things . Breaking things is a taboo at ordinary times, and breaking things in the New Year is an even worse sign. In the old days, it was believed that breaking objects in the first month of the lunar year would bring bad luck in the new year. Therefore, when something is broken, people would quickly say “Sui (sui) sui (sui) peace” or “the more you break, the more prosperous you will be”, “the old does not go away, the new does not come”, etc., to ward off evil.
2. Avoid quarreling and swearing. <br/> Avoid quarreling and swearing in the first month of the lunar year. In the old days, people believed that quarreling in the first month of the lunar year would ruin the whole year, and swearing would bring disaster.
3. Avoid shaving . <br/>Barbers start working early in the morning on the 30th, shaving and braiding, or washing and cutting men's hair, and they work all night until the morning of the 1st. At that time, most barbers were from Baodi. They would pack up and go back to their hometowns at dawn. It was difficult to find a barber to get a haircut again. This is to urge people to do all the cleaning and sanitation work before the New Year.
4. Avoid New Year’s greetings in the bereaved family <br/>When there is a funeral in the family, all New Year activities must be cancelled during the three-year mourning period. The most taboo thing is to visit other families to wish a happy new year. Others also try not to visit a funeral home during the first month of the year. If they have to visit, they do not go into the house but stand outside the door and talk.