Get lucky this Lunar New Year by avoiding these taboos

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The 15-day Spring Festival holiday period in China is filled with food, family reunions and traditions, but we would be remiss to forget about the superstitions that some Chinese hold to ward off bad luck.

The following is a list of the most popular ones. Superstitions can be fun, but take them with a grain of salt!

If you're feeling sick on New Year’s Day, well tough luck, you're going to have to stick this one out! It’s considered taboo to take medicine or go to the hospital because if you do, it’s believed you’ll be plagued with illness for the entire year.

So to avoid unwanted hospital time, exercise to keep fit and healthy during the coming year! Of course, if you are truly sick, then forgo the superstition and seek medical help.

Washing clothes is frowned upon on the first and second days of the Spring Festival, as those days celebrate the birthday of the water god.

You can plan outfits and wash your clothes in advance... a good hack to avoid doing laundry during those pivotal days.

In Mandarin, the word for hair has the same pronunciation and character as the Fa in Facai (发财), which means to become wealthy.

Avoid washing your hair on the first day of the festival. Instead, do if after the second day of the Lunar New Year, for in Mandarin, the word for hair has the same pronunciation and character as the Fa in Facai (发财), which means to become wealthy. So, washing your hair is seen as “washing away one’s fortune.”

Any major housecleaning needs to be done before New Year’s Day, for doing so means you’ve swept away all the bad luck from the previous year. But sweeping during the first day of the festival is seen as sweeping away wealth. Taking out the garbage also symbolizes dumping out good luck or good fortune.

Safety first! Using sharp objects like knives, scissors and needles are to be avoided at all costs – and it's not only to prevent accidents! It’s long believed to bring about bad luck and the depletion of wealth.

Wearing raggedy, old and unpresentable clothing is also a major no-no. Wearing white or black is not okay as these colors are associated with mourning. But wearing red on the other hand, brings good luck.

Whether you believe there’s truth to these taboos or not, these age-old traditions are still widely practiced across China today… they reflect the people’s optimism, wishing to have a joyous, prosperous and success-filled new year.