What to do and not to do in the Lunar New year

新年必做的事和不能做的禁忌

xīn nián bì zuò de shì hé bú néng zuò de jìn jì 

What to do and not to do in the New year 

对每一个你遇到的人道一声:"恭喜发财",翻译成英文就是:"在新的一年里拥有幸福繁荣的生活"。

duì měi yī gè nǐ yù dào de rén dào yī shēng :"gōng xǐ fā cái ",fān yì chéng yīng wén jiù shì :"zài xīn de yī nián lǐ yōng yǒu xìng fú fán róng de shēng huó "。

Does Wish everyone you meet a happy New Year by saying "gong xi fa cai", which translates to: "Have a happy and prosperous New Year!"

穿红色布料做成的饰品,因为红色昭示着幸运。

chuān hóng sè bù liào zuò chéng de shì pǐn ,yīn wéi hóng sè zhāo shì zhe xìng yùn 。

Wear articles of red clothing because red symbolizes luck.

买新裤子(衣服),因为汉语里裤子就是"服",(在汉语里与"富"谐音)。

mǎi xīn kù zǐ (yī fú ),yīn wéi hàn yǔ lǐ kù zǐ jiù shì "fú ",(zài hàn yǔ lǐ yǔ "fù "xié yīn )。

 Buy new trousers because the Chinese word for trousers is "fu", (Chinese homonym for wealth)

孩子应该在除夕之夜尽可能晚睡、熬夜因为据说他们睡的越晚,他们的父母越长寿。

hái zǐ yīng gāi zài chú xī zhī yè jìn kě néng wǎn shuì 、áo yè yīn wéi jù shuō tā men shuì de yuè wǎn ,tā men de fù mǔ yuè zhǎng shòu 。

Children should stay up as late as possible on New Year's Eve for it is believed that the later they stay up, the longer their parents will live.

拜访亲戚朋友(尤其是比你年长的),传递你对他们来年幸福的美好祝愿(另外孩子和单身的人将会得到装满钱的幸运红包,称为"来喜"。)

bài fǎng qīn qī péng yǒu (yóu qí shì bǐ nǐ nián zhǎng de ),chuán dì nǐ duì tā men lái nián xìng fú de měi hǎo zhù yuàn (lìng wài hái zǐ hé dān shēn de rén jiāng huì dé dào zhuāng mǎn qián de xìng yùn hóng bāo ,chēng wéi "lái xǐ "。)

 Visit family (especially those older than yourself) and friends to pass on your wishes on good fortune for the New Year. (plus kids and single people will receive lai-see lucky red packets full of money.

给每个孩子两份"来喜",因为好事成双,不要只给一份.这是你把祝愿传递给下一代的方法.企业主(老板)也要给员工和同事红包。

gěi měi gè hái zǐ liǎng fèn "lái xǐ ",yīn wéi hǎo shì chéng shuāng ,bú yào zhī gěi yī fèn .zhè shì nǐ bǎ zhù yuàn chuán dì gěi xià yī dài de fāng fǎ .qǐ yè zhǔ (lǎo bǎn )yě yào gěi yuán gōng hé tóng shì hóng bāo 。

Give two lai see to each child. Because happiness comes in two's, do not just give one. This is your way of passing good luck to the next generation. Business owners also give lai see to employees and associates.

Don'ts:

不要穿白色或黑色服装,因为这是传统意义上丧事的颜色。

bú yào chuān bái sè huò hēi sè fú zhuāng ,yīn wéi zhè shì chuán tǒng yì yì shàng sàng shì de yán sè 。

 Don't wear white or black clothing, since they are the traditional colours of mourning.

不要在新年的第一个月买新鞋,因为在汉语里鞋的发音是"孩"(好像是四川地区的发音), 它与叹息"唉"相近,中国人认为这不是新年伊始的好兆头。

bú yào zài xīn nián de dì yī gè yuè mǎi xīn xié ,yīn wéi zài hàn yǔ lǐ xié de fā yīn shì "hái "(hǎo xiàng shì sì chuān dì qū de fā yīn ), tā yǔ tàn xī "āi "xiàng jìn ,zhōng guó rén rèn wéi zhè bú shì xīn nián yī shǐ de hǎo zhào tóu 。

Don't buy new shoes for the first month of the New Year, because the sound of shoe in Chinese is "hai". "Hai" is similar to the sound of sighing, which Chinese believe is not a good way to start the year.

在新年的前三天里不要洗头,因为汉语里"头发"的"发"和"发财"的"发"同音.因此,中国认为在新年伊始把财富给冲走可不是好兆头。

zài xīn nián de qián sān tiān lǐ bú yào xǐ tóu ,yīn wéi hàn yǔ lǐ "tóu fā "de "fā "hé "fā cái "de "fā "tóng yīn .yīn cǐ ,zhōng guó rèn wéi zài xīn nián yī shǐ bǎ cái fù gěi chōng zǒu kě bú shì hǎo zhào tóu 。

 Don't wash your hair for the first three days of the New Year, because the Chinese word for hair is a homonym for the Chinese word for wealth. Therefore, Chinese believe it isn't a good thing to 'wash away your wealth' right at the start of the New Year.

在新年第一天,不拖地,不扔垃圾,因为怕把"财"给送走了。

zài xīn nián dì yī tiān ,bú tuō dì ,bú rēng lā jī ,yīn wéi pà bǎ "cái "gěi sòng zǒu le 。

Floors may not be swept and garbage may not be disposed of on the first day of the New Year for fear of casting riches out the door.

不要诅咒发誓和吵架。

bú yào zǔ zhòu fā shì hé chǎo jià 。

 Don't swear or quarrel.

不要打破碗碟,否则在来年你可能会遭遇不幸.一旦打破了,要马上说"岁岁平安",这样坏运气就会被赶走了。

bú yào dǎ pò wǎn dié ,fǒu zé zài lái nián nǐ kě néng huì zāo yù bú xìng .yī dàn dǎ pò le ,yào mǎ shàng shuō "suì suì píng ān ",zhè yàng huài yùn qì jiù huì bèi gǎn zǒu le 。

 Don't break any dishes, otherwise you may incur more misfortune for the New Year. In the event of breaking a dish, quickly say " Peace for all time", and the bad luck will be warded away.

不要向服丧期的人们问候(主要指不要说喜庆的话)。

bú yào xiàng fú sàng qī de rén men wèn hòu (zhǔ yào zhǐ bú yào shuō xǐ qìng de huà )。

 Don't greet people who are in mourning.

不要让筷子掉地上。

bú yào ràng kuài zǐ diào dì shàng 。

 Don't drop your chopsticks.

不要说数字"四"(汉语里和"死"谐音)或者提到死。

bú yào shuō shù zì "sì "(hàn yǔ lǐ hé "sǐ "xié yīn ) huò zhě tí dào sǐ 。

Don't say the number "four" (Chinese homonym for death) or mention death.

不要借钱也不要借给别人钱。

bú yào jiè qián yě bú yào jiè gěi bié rén qián 。

Don't borrow or lend money.