Taboos and Superstitions of Chinese New Year

House Cleaning
The entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day. On
New Year's Eve, all brooms, brushes, dusters, dust pans and
other cleaning equipment are put away. Sweeping or dusting
should not be done on New Year's Day for fear that good fortune
will be swept away. After New Year's Day, the floors may be
swept. Beginning at the door, the dust and rubbish are swept to
the middle of the parlor, then placed in the corners and not taken
or thrown out until the fifth day. At no time should the rubbish in
the corners be trampled upon. In sweeping, there is a superstition
that if you sweep the dirt out over the threshold, you will sweep
one of the family away. Also, to sweep the dust and dirt out of
your house by the front entrance is to sweep away the good
fortune of the family; it must always be swept inwards and then
carried out, then no harm will follow. All dirt and rubbish must
be taken out the back door.
 Bringing In the New Year and
Expelling the Old
Shooting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve is
the Chinese way of sending out the old year and
welcoming in the New Year. On the stroke of
midnight on New Year's Eve, every door in the
house, and even windows, have to be open to
allow the old year to go out.

New Year Activities Set Precendent

All debts had to paid by this time. Nothing should be lent on this
day, as anyone who does so will be lending all the year. Back
when tinder and flint were used, no one would lend them on this
day or give a light to others.
Everyone should refrain from using foul language and bad or
unlucky words. Negative terms and the word "four" (Ssu), which
sounds like the word for death, are not to be uttered. Death and
dying are never mentioned and ghost stories are totally taboo.
References to the past year are also avoided as everything should
be turned toward the New Year and a new beginning.
If you cry on New Year's day, you will cry all through the year.
Therefore, children are tolerated and are not spanked, even
though they are mischievous.
 Personal Appearance and Cleanliness
On New Year's Day, we are not suppose to wash
our hair because it would mean we would have
washed away good luck for the New Year. Red
clothing is preferred during this festive occasion.
Red is considered a bright, happy color, sure to
bring the wearer a sunny and bright future. It is
believed that appearance and attitude during New
Year's sets the tone for the rest of the year.
Children and unmarried friends, as well as close
relatives are given lai see, little red envelopes with
crisp one dollar bills inserted, for good fortune.

More New Year Superstitions

For those most superstitious, before leaving the house to call on
others, the Almanac should be consulted to find the best time to
leave the home and the direction which is most auspicious to
head out.
The first person one meets and the first words heard are
significant as to what the fortunes would be for the entire year. It
is a lucky sign to see or hear songbirds or red-colored birds or
swallows.
It is considered unlucky to greet anyone in their bedroom so that
is why everyone, even the sick, should get dressed and sit in the
living room.
Do not use knives or scissors on New Year's Day as this may cut
off fortune.
While many Chinese people today may not believe in these do's
and don'ts, these traditions and customs are still practiced. These
traditions and customs are kept because most families realize
that it is these very traditions, whether believed or not, that
provide continuity with the past and provide the family with an
identity.

Return to Chinese New Year

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Silly Superstitions
You can search this page for specific superstitions by clicking on your browser's
EDIT button and choosing FIND. If you wanted to find all the superstitions
about cats, type "cat" in the search field (don't put in the quotation signs) and let
your computer do the work.
It's bad luck to walk under a ladder. This came from the early Christian belief that a leaning
ladder formed a triangle with the wall and ground. You must never violate the Holy Trinity by
walking through a triangle, lest you be considered in league with the devil. (And you all know
what good Christians did to people they suspected of being in league with the devil.)
Beware of Friday the Thirteenth. Those who know about these things, inform us that Adam
and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, Noah's flood started on a Friday,
and Christ was crucified on a Friday. Christians also noted that twelve witches plus one devil are
present at Satanic ceremonies so Friday and 13 make a deadly combination.
God Bless You. During the sixth century, it was customary to congratulate people who sneezed
because they were expelling evil from their bodies. Later, when a great plague took hold of
Europe, and people began sneezing violently, the Pope passed a law. Since sneezing meant that
the person was going to die of plague, people were required to bless the sneezer.
Don't spill the salt. Although some people believe that Judas spilt salt during the last supper,
this claim can't be proven. Salt was a very precious expensive commodity in the middle ages. It
was also used for medicinal purposes. If you spilled any, you must immediately throw it over
your left shoulder to strike the nasty spirits in the eye, thus preventing sickness.
Wear a St. Christopher Medal when you travel. Historians don't believe there ever was a
Saint Christopher.
Black cats are evil. In ancient Egypt, the Goddess Bast, was a black female cat. Christian priests
wanted to wipe out all traces of other religions so convinced their ignorant followers to destroy
the evil demons that were black cats. While they were at it, they destroyed the kindly little old
ladies who cared for the cats believing them to be witches.
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home. It is bad luck to kill a ladybug because it represents the
Virgin Mary.
Pie In The Sky. Of course, this means to search for the impossible dream but it originated in the
early 1900's. A famous labor organizer named Joe Hill was extremely critical of the clergy's
treatment of slaves. He wrote a tune called 'The Preacher and the Slave" accusing the clergy of
making false promises of a better life in heaven while people starved on earth. The song goes:
'Work and pray, live on hay. You'll get pie in the sky when you die. That's a lie!'
Skin Of Your Teeth. This saying means to barely escape from a harrowing situation. It comes
from Job 19:20, where God inflicts all sorts of terrible things on one of those who love him. Poor
Job had all his animals stolen, his children die, his house collapse and his body covered with
sores. Job has this to say; "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with
the skin of my teeth."
Fleshpot. - Today 'fleshpot' describes decadence. In the time of Moses, it was a large pot in
which to boil meat. Somehow, preachers managed to change the meaning to scare their flock
about 'sins of the flesh'.
To make a scapegoat. - The poor scapegoat gets the punishment for everyone else's mistakes.
God condoned this cruelty to animals in Leviticus 16:7-10 "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the
two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat." The scapegoat got to escape,
and carry the tribe's sins into the wilderness, to be eaten by some animal instead of being offered
alive as a sacrifice for the Lord.
Christmas and the Star of Bethlehem. - There is no historical evidence that Christ was born on
December 25th. December 25th was officially adopted by Bishop Liberius of Rome in 354.
December 25th occurs during the rainy season in the Holy Land, so it is highly unlikely that
shepherds would be outside in their pastures. The Hayden Planetarium in New York recreated
the heavens as they were in the time that Christ was allegedly born. Although nothing
spectacular happened in the skies on the date of Christ's birth, the Planetarium went back to the
year 6 B.C. On that date, there were three stars in close proximity which created a spectacularly
bright beacon, which may account for the stories of the Star of Bethlehem. The most plausible
reason that December 25 was chosen as a day to celebrate Christ's birth was that the Christian
fathers were trying to compete with another growing religion, Mithraism - the worship of a sun
god - whose holy day was also December 25.
Easter - The name "Easter' derives from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon dawn goddess. She was
traditionally honored at the beginning of spring. Easter wasn't celebrated in North America until
after the Civil War when religious leaders decided that the country needed a holiday which
stressed rebirth.
 CHINESE TABOOS
Like any other race the Chinese has their fair share of taboos, some of them are
related to the language and culture.

Death is a taboo which is not to be discussed in “joyous” occasions such as

Chinese New Year, weddings or birthdays.

The number “four” phonetically sounds so much like “death” , that

the number four, fourteen, forty-four, etc, are avoided as far as possible.
Given a choice a Chinese would not buy house No. 4 of a given street.

In the company of fishermen, do not turn the fish over. It symbolises boats
capsized.

Never buy a clock as a present for any Chinese friend. The word “clock”

, has similar sound with the “end” . Giving a clock as a gift

[song zhong] sounds like being present at the bedside when a person
takes his last breath.

Never buy a green hat for any male married friend, as wearing a green hat

has the same meaning that his wife commits adultery.

http://www.yitseng.net/Chinese%20dimensions/naming.html

Chinese names - NAMES THAT TELL A STORY

Please click on an alphabet below to check your surname or name
A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q R S T W X Y Z
Understanding Chinese names Identify your Chinese name
surnames

The Western world would name their children from a list of established names such as Peter, François, Günther, C
Chinese on the other hand could create unique names by choosing characters from a vast selection of vocabulary t
is like being able to create a name for your children or yourself by choosing any word from the vocabulary.
In the Chinese language there is a wide choice of words that could be coined as names, though in practice some
often than others. Other than inherited surname, it is an art to choose suitable and meaningful words as names.
Embedded in most Chinese names are the parents’ aspirations and hopes for their children. Since a person is ad
throughout his life, whether he or she likes it or not, his identity, his perceived personality (until others know him w
subconsciously implicated or associated with his name.
You can find out what your Chinese name (or that of your friend) means. As there are several word that sound th
identify the precise Chinese character. Click on a alphabet according to how the word is spelt, choose the
characters are displayed in both simplified and traditional forms).
Not all Chinese could be displayed in the web-page. More information is found in Chapter 2.

For more information please contact the author

Chapter 3: Cultural Roots – The Chinese Language

In Chapter Three “Cultural roots – the Chinese language” we look at the Chinese
language, its origin, development, structure and salient features that make it different
from any other language in the world. The chapter looks at concept of “word radical”,
unique to the Chinese language. A short description of various calligraphic styles is then
discussed, followed by a review of the Chinese pronunciation system, in particular
[pinyin], complete with the four intonations. Issues such as association of words with
sounds or meanings are discussed, followed by how the language overcomes
constraints arising from the digital era. The pronunciation chart of all possible word
sounds in Chinese is provided, with an example of each sound.

The chapter starts with a snapshot of the Chinese language origin as pictograms,
presenting objects or ideas as "images" or "pictures". It then look into the structure of
Chinese characters in terms of how words are formed through stroke combinations.
Various types of strokes and their sequence in writing is discussed.

An important concept unique to Chinese language, the Chinese character radicals,

forms the next part of the chapter. The radicals form part of the building block on which
characters are formed. Different calligraphic styles in the Chinese language are then
presented, followed by examples of Chinese fonts generated by modern day computers.

The pronunciation system, in terms of pinyin and zhuyin, complete with the
intonations, forms the next part of discussion. A pronunciation chart of all possible word
sounds in Chinese is provided, followed by a simple discourse of the Chinese grammar.

The chapter ends with looking at how new words are coined or developed from
existing vocabulary, the chapter ends with a look development of the Chinese language
in the fast changing digital world.

Topics discussed in this website includes Chinese font types, Digital era for the
Chinese language, Intonation, Pictograms, Simplified Chinese.

Naming taboo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

See also Taboo against naming the dead.

Naming taboo

Chinese name

Traditional Chinese 避諱

Simplified Chinese 避讳
[hide]Transliterations

Mandarin

- Hanyu Pinyin Bìhuì

- Wade–Giles pi4hui4

Cantonese

- Jyutping bei6 wai5

 Japanese name

Kanji 避諱

Hiragana ひき

[show]Transliterations

- Revised Hepburn hiki

Naming taboo is a cultural taboo ag

ainst speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons in China and neighboring nations in
the ancient Chinese cTaboos and Superstition
(things to try at home)
Its important to have a clean and tidy house for New Year - make the days leading up to it,
a time for spring cleaning rooms, throwing out old toys. (Particularly good for those who are
interested in Montessori Practical Life activities!) Maybe you could do a car boot sale of the
things you don't need and tie it in with discussions of wealth?
Fireworks (firecrackers) are vital on New Years Eve as a celebration and on the stroke of
midnight all the doors and windows of the house are supposed to be open - a little chilly in
the UK perhaps but it does tie in nicely with a UK New Year superstition popular in Victorian
Times (find link) which could make for interesting discussion.
All debts must be paid (if only!) and nothing must be lent on New Years Day. How hard is it to
only use whats really yours for a day? Where are the boundaries? What belongs to all of you
or none of you? Bet its harder than you think!
Avoid references to the past - again - a tough one! Bad language and talk of death are
severely frowned upon. Why would this be?
Wear red - a bright, happy colour to bring happiness for the year (yellow belongs to the
emperor and is forbidden)
Lai See, red envelopes with money in them are given to children and unmarried
friends/relatives on New Years Day.
Don't use knives or scissors in case you cut off good luck - again - a tough one!
If something, eg a plate, is broken, it is vital to say sui sui ping an, which means "peace
throughout the year," immediately.
Joss sticks and altar candles must be kept burning day and night to encourage longevity. An
opportunity to discuss safety.
 Back to Our Chinese New Year Page

ultural sphere.

Contents
[hide]
• 1 Kinds of naming taboo
• 2 Methods to avoid
offence
• 3 Naming taboo in history
• 4 See also
• 5 References

[edit] Kinds of naming taboo

• The naming taboo of the state (国讳; 國諱) discouraged the use of the
emperor's given name and those of his ancestors. For example, during the
Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang's given name Zheng (政) was avoided, and the
first month of the year "Zheng Yue" (政月: the administrative month) was
rewritten into "Zheng Yue" (正月: the upright month) and furthermore
renamed as "Duan Yue" (端月: the proper/upright month). The character 正
was also pronounced with a different tone (zhèng to zhēng) to avoid any
similarity. Generally, ancestor names going back to seven generations were
avoided. The strength of this taboo was reinforced by law; transgressors
could expect serious punishment for writing an emperor's name without
modifications. In 1777, Wang Xihou (王錫侯) in his dictionary criticized the
Kangxi dictionary and wrote the Qianlong Emperor's name without leaving
out any stroke as required. These disrespects resulted in his and his family's
executions and confiscation of their property.[1]
• The naming taboo of the clan (家讳; 家諱) discouraged the use of the names
of one's own ancestors. In diplomatic documents and letters between clans,
each clan's naming taboos were observed.
• The naming taboo of the holinesses (圣人讳; 聖人諱) discouraged the use of
the names of respected people. For example, writing Confucius' name was
taboo during the Jin Dynasty.