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Laba festival is the Day 8 of the 12th lunar month. Chinese New Year preparation starts from this day and families should eat Laba Congee on Laba Festival.
People will go for New Year shopping for new clothes, gifts for relatives, foods, snacks, nuts, spring couplets, lanterns, many decoration things to put in the house and mainly everything they will need for Chinese New Year Festival. Just like it is in the west, when it’s approaching Chinese New Year time there is a commercial sale festival.
In ancient time, Chinese people believe that kitchen god goes back to heaven to report each house’s achievement of the year during Chinese New Year time. Hence, every year on 23rd of the 12th lunar month, people will have a thank dinner for kitchen god. They will place an extra delicious dish in front of the kitchen god picture to treat him. So him will report some nice words about this family and apply favor for them in the coming year. People will burn its picture so that he could go back to heaven and they will paste a new picture of him in New Year time.
Clean every corner of the house, sweep away the dust. This is meant to sweep the misfortune away from the house, say farewell to the year and welcome good fortune for the coming year. After this thoroughly clean, the house will not be cleaned during the beginning of Chinese New Year as this might cause good fortune to be swept away. The cleaning process usually starts from 24th of the 12th lunar month according to the tradition, but nowadays people are busy working before the Chinese New Year public holiday, so you could do it whenever you have time before Chinese New Year eve.
During Chinese New Year time, people are not supposed to do any laundry for this means washing the good luck away of the coming year. Last time they do laundry should before New Year, 27th of the 12th lunar month is the actual day to do this according to tradition.
After thoroughly clean, laundry, it is time to give your house a fresh new year decoration to usher good fortune in. Every family is hanging up red lanterns, pasting spring couplets, paper cuttings, New Year pictures, hanging Chinese knots etc. There are some certain rules in pasting spring couplets, learn more about New Year decoration by transfer to How to Decorate your House for Chinese New Year in Traditional Way. Traditionally this should be done on 28th of the 12th lunar month, nowadays people do it according to their spare time before Chinese New Year.
Visiting ancestors and offering sacrifices to them to pray for protection from your ancestors for the New Year is a tradition before Chinese New Year. Normally this should be done on the 29th of the 12th lunar month.
30th of the 12th lunar month is the Chinese new year eve. On this day, people will enjoy a big feast of reunion dinner, eating dumplings and watching chunwan gala. Elderly people and parents of the family will give red envelopes to kids. They will stay up late and light fireworks to countdown and welcome the New Year coming.
Learn more about How to Celebrate Chinese New Year.
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