Why can't you go to other people's houses on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year? What should you pay attention to on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year?

As we all know, during the New Year period, people can go from street to street to pay New Year's greetings. This is also a way for people to celebrate the New Year, and this custom only exists during the Spring Festival. However, you cannot go to other people's homes on the fourth day of the New Year. So why can't you go to other people's homes on the fourth day of the New Year?

Why can't we go to other people's houses on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year?

The fourth day of the first lunar month is the day of the sheep. Legend has it that this is the day when Goddess Nuwa created the sheep. "Three sheep (yang) bring good luck" should be auspicious, but in northern my country there is an allusion to the "red sheep disaster" among the people, and it is taboo to go out on the fourth day. In addition, there is a folk saying that the fourth day of the first lunar month is the day when the Kitchen God returns from heaven to the people to "check the household registration". Every household must stay at home on this day, prepare rich fruits, burn incense, light candles and set off firecrackers to welcome him, so it is not appropriate to leave the house.
Another theory is that the Kitchen God will check the household registration on the fourth day of the New Year, so it is not appropriate to leave home. Every household should stay at home, prepare rich fruits, burn incense, light candles and set off firecrackers to welcome him respectfully. But in the north, nephews can go to visit their aunts, “Aunt and uncle are close, generations are close, even if bones are broken but tendons are still connected, we are all one family.” In the south, the situation is just the opposite. In some areas, people pay attention to going out to work and earn money on the fourth day of the New Year, which means having something to do when going out.

What should I pay attention to on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year?

1. It is not advisable to use needle and thread . From the first to the fourth day of the New Year, shops are closed and women are not allowed to use needle and thread.
2. Avoid quarreling and swearing . Avoid quarreling and swearing in the first month of the 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 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 "May you have peace in the new year" or "The more you break, the more prosperous you will be" or "The old doesn't go away, the new doesn't come" etc. to ward off evil.
4. It is not advisable to travel far away . The Kitchen God will check the household registration, so every household must stay home, prepare rich fruits, burn incense, light candles and set off firecrackers to welcome him, so it is not advisable to travel far away. This is in line with people's need to have one day at home to adjust after consecutive festivals. Therefore, there is a custom in old Beijing that people should not go out on the fourth day of the first lunar month. However, nephews can visit their aunts. "Aunts and uncles are close, and they are close for generations. Even if our bones are broken, we are still connected. We are one family."
5. No shaving in the first month of the lunar year <br/>The barber starts working early on the 30th, shaving and braiding, or washing and cutting men's hair, and he works all night until the morning of the first day of the lunar year. 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.