Author: Dr. Tiffany Hoyt, LAc., a Chinese Medicine doctor at GWCIM
You think Thanksgiving is a big travel day? Roughly 2 billion people celebrate the lunar new year– many of them traveling home, which means this holiday heralds the largest annual movement of people on earth. In China, this period is called chun yun (春运) or Spring Migration. In recent years young urbanites who want their folks back home to stop pestering them about being single have started renting “boyfriends” and “girlfriends” to accompany them when they return home for the New Year Celebrations.
The lunar new year is celebrated on the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year it falls on Wednesday, January 29. We are celebrating the handover of the year from the old Dragon to the newborn Snake. It’s a great time to reunite with family and friends, wish for luck, wealth and prosperity and start the year fresh.
Here are a few things to do on lunar new year:
Wear red. The color red represents happiness, prosperity, and luck. Wearing black or white for this day is frowned upon, as it reminds people of mourning. Wear new clothes, especially those that are bright and cheery, but do not wear new shoes to avoid the work of breaking in a pair of shoes.
Be positive: Do not argue or cry if possible. Do not use negative words—you don’t want the words you use to be a template for the rest of the year. If your child cries don’t scold him. Don’t take medicine or talk about illness or death on this day. Start the year as you want it to continue–healthily.
Eat a lot of dumplings: They symbolize wealth and prosperity because they look like ingots of gold. You can eat also sweet rice ball soup–tang yuan, which simply means “soup balls” but sounds a lot like an expression that means reunion; and fa gao (发糕) which is a type of sponge cake. The “fa” is the same word as in the expression fa cai (发财), which means “to get rich.” People also eat long noodles, which represent a long life. Avoid cutting or breaking them.
And a few not to dos:
Clean: While starting the new year with a clean house, fresh sheets and swept floors is great, but from Wednesday through the next five days afterwards don’t sweep, don’t clean and don’t take out the trash: sweeping or carrying out trash may carry away your good luck. That includes showering: Don’t shower on Wednesday as you don’t want to wash your good looks away.
Use knives, scissors or needles: Don’t use sharp objects as it will cut your stream of wealth and success. This can pose a problem for acupuncturists—but it’s a great time to do more moxabustion with our patient
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