Monday, February 15, 2010

Taboos during Chinese New Year

On the first day of Chinese New Year (CNY), we are not supposed to dispose of any rubbish. This is because rubbish is considered 'cai' or money. Discarding trash on the first day of CNY means throwing away 'cai'. For hygienic purposes we put our rubbish into plastic bags and tied properly so that no odour emits from it. The rubbish will only be thrown on the second day of CNY.

The next taboo is not to say unpleasant words or those that are considered unlucky. Instead only good words should be uttered. I am sure all of us want good things to come our way and not otherwise. I personally advocate saying good and pleasant things about our friends and family members as the Chinese saying goes "Internal household shameful things should not be revealed to others outside our house." As most peole like to listen to pleasant things said about them, why should we offend them by scandalising them? If you believe in karma, good begets good and bad begets bad, you will surely praise the strong points of others and ignoring their weaknesses. In this way, good karma will come your way.

I enjoy the CNY because I can forget about work for a few days. No preparation for my tuition class, not reports to be written about the performance of my classes to my boss. On top of that, I can enjoy watching my movies all day long. Being a movie addicts I used to go the cinema very often. However, nowadays, I watch only movies on DVD's or those downloaded by my daughter. She has a faster connection (4000mb) in Sungai Long where she shares Streamyx with her housemates.

1 comment:

hazeleyed lady said...

Hi
Gong Xi Fa Cai.
Enjoy your CNY