It’s the Year of the Monkey!

The Lawhead Team would like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year and share a few New Year traditions from Coldwell Banker!

yearHome for the Holidays

The days leading up to Chinese New Year are extremely busy. Some families even begin preparing a month in advance! Most people working away from their hometown return to their hometown to celebrate the New Year, no matter how difficult travel may be.

Sweeping Away Bad Luck

Homes are cleaned from top to bottom so all the bad luck of the previous year is swept away. Once the New Year begins dustpans and brooms are put away so the good luck of the New Year is not swept away.

Red for Luck

Red is the color or symbol of good luck in Chinese culture. Some homeowners even paint a fresh coat of red paint as they believe this will bring them luck in the New Year. Many hope to usher in extra good luck by decorating with chunlian, which are long, narrow red strips of paper or diamond-shaped paper printed with black or gold Chinese characters which are hung in the doorways of homes.

Dragon
The Dragon is present in many Chinese cultural celebrations. On the fifth day of the New Year when many people have to start going back to work, they will also have the Dancing Dragons perform in the front of the office building. (History.com)

Check out more Chinese New Year traditions, customs and activities here.