Top 35 Taboos During Lunar New Year

First-footing is an ancient Vietnamese tradition with the hope of bringing luck and peace in the new year. This practice typically occurs from the midnight of New Year's Eve to the morning of the 1st day. The first person to enter a house after midnight is considered the first-footer for that family. Throughout history, we've believed in the influence of the first-footer on happiness, prosperity, wealth, and health for the household. Therefore, people still rely on choosing the right person to be their first-footer based on their compatibility with the family.

Moreover, there are taboos regarding the first-footing tradition. Those who are ill or incompatible with the host family, or those who are mourning should avoid being the first-footer for others. It's believed that they might bring misfortune to the household throughout the year.

On the first day of Tet, people are superstitious about giving away fire or water from their homes. Traditionally, fire symbolizes luck for the new year, while water represents the family's wealth and fortune for the coming year. Giving away fire on Tet is like giving away the red fortune, the luck for the new year, which could lead to financial loss and misfortune for the household. Similarly, giving away water is like sending away wealth and prosperity from the home. Therefore, before Tet, people often store up water as a way to accumulate luck and wealth for the whole year. They also avoid pouring out used water and keep it stored until after Tet.

Thus, on the first day of the lunar new year, they avoid giving away fire and instead focus on storing plenty of water to ensure luck and prosperity throughout the year.

Vietnamese people often avoid sweeping the house on the first 3 days of Tet - especially on the first day. They believe that the new year brings in a lot of luck and prosperity into the house, and if we sweep the house during the first 3 days, we'll sweep away all the luck and abundance. And sweeping the house at the beginning of the year will make that year for them impoverished, the spirit of fortune swept away, bringing bad luck to the family.

Because of the tradition of not sweeping the house on Tet, Vietnamese people usually tidy up their homes on the 30th. Moreover, people in the South on Tet day often remove all the rubbish because they fear losing it, which means unfavorable business, leading to going into others' homes to beg for food.

In the new year, everyone wishes for peace and harmony in the family, therefore, on Tet day, people avoid arguments. Arguing will strain relationships, if arguments happen at the beginning of the year, it is believed to only bring about conflict and sadness to others, especially to close family members. If conflicts arise, it will lead to a year of bad luck.

Furthermore, if there are arguments in the family in the early days of the year, it will crack relationships, which will affect business as it won't have the consensus of the whole family.

Since ancient times, people believe that breaking, damaging utensils (cups, plates, etc.) are signs of division, not only of objects but also of relationships.

Therefore, from ancient times to the present, people always advise their subordinates to be careful in every action to avoid breaking everything. For those who are impatient or tend to break utensils, it is advisable to limit the use of fragile items and be cautious in everything.

During Tet, our ancestors always believed that keeping doors open is essential. Closing doors implies driving away guests and fortune from entering the house. Tet is a day when everyone visits relatives and neighbors to exchange New Year's greetings, hoping for a peaceful and prosperous year ahead.

Moreover, according to folk beliefs, from early on the first day until before the full moon of the first lunar month, the Kitchen Gods along with other deities will visit each house. If your gates are shut tight, it's considered disrespectful, and they may leave in anger, resulting in a year of hardship and poverty. Therefore, on Tet day, it's important to keep doors open. If the family must go out for New Year's greetings, someone should stay at home to watch over the house.

During Tet, we indulge in feasting, making it easy to gain weight. However, there are certain dishes that Vietnamese people avoid eating to ward off bad luck such as: rice porridge, duck, balut, catfish, and shrimp.

It's believed that: Eating rice porridge on Tet day will make evil spirits think you're stealing from them, which brings bad luck. Consuming duck at the beginning of the month will attract lingering misfortune. Eating balut will disrupt your fate (transitioning into the new year in a good state of health and fortune, but consuming it at this time may turn you into sand). Moreover, shrimp should also be avoided during these days because shrimp often moves backward, symbolizing setbacks in work and health (moreover, shrimp have their feces on their heads, which is believed to reduce intelligence if consumed).

According to ancient beliefs, white and black are the colors of loneliness, coldness, and sorrow, while spring is the season of vitality, prosperity, and wealth. Therefore, wearing white or black clothing in the early days of the year is considered inappropriate; people often refrain from wearing such attire.

Instead, vibrant-colored outfits symbolize vitality, youthfulness, and enthusiasm for a new year filled with joy and good fortune. If someone wears black or white attire to Tet celebrations, it is believed that their family will encounter disturbances throughout the year, bringing misfortune upon them.

During the first days of the year, everyone hopes for luck and prosperity to come to their families. Therefore, since ancient times, people have avoided holding funerals on the first day of the year to avoid anything ominous or unlucky. If there is a funeral, it is postponed until after the first day of the Lunar New Year to ward off bad luck and ensure that loved ones and those around have a complete and auspicious Tet holiday.

If a family has a funeral on the 30th, they usually hold the funeral right away to avoid carrying it over to the new year. Additionally, people refrain from attending funerals and then visiting others to wish them a Happy Tet. There's an old saying, 'Where there's worship, there's sanctity; where there are restrictions, there's blessings,' so everyone encountering this situation should pay attention to avoid encountering any unfortunate events for themselves and those around them.

The practice of avoiding dumping garbage on the first day of Tet originates from a story: Once upon a time, a merchant was gifted a maid named Nu Nguyet by the Water Deity. Since her arrival, he suddenly became wealthy.

One year, on the first day of Tet, Nu Nguyet made a mistake, and the master beat and scolded her severely, causing her much distress, leading her to disappear into a pile of garbage. Unaware, the merchant disposed of the trash. From then on, he returned to poverty.

On Tet, families gather together and prepare a variety of dishes to worship their ancestors, so it's inevitable that there will be leftover food. However, it's believed that on Tet, one should avoid overeating, snacking, or wasting food.

There are usually a lot of dishes during Tet that cannot be finished, so it's acceptable to save them instead of wasting or throwing them away, as such actions are considered wasteful and could lead to scarcity, hunger, especially leaving leftover rice can negatively affect one's business.

Therefore, Vietnamese people are very careful during these days to ensure prosperity and abundance for the new year. Moreover, during meals, it's important to avoid crossing chopsticks over the bowl, as doing so can lead to delays in work. On Tet, it's also recommended to eat fruits like melon, mango, and oranges to remedy food wastage.

Ensuring feng shui by hanging living room paintings will always help homeowners and family members achieve luck and wealth. Moreover, these are also items that create aesthetic highlights for the space. However, if you violate one of the following four taboos during the selection and arrangement process, it will not only damage the inherent prosperity in the living room but also bring about unfortunate and unlucky occurrences.

As Tet approaches and spring comes, people often buy a new painting to hang up for the Lunar New Year, usually a painting with good meanings and luck such as paintings of piglets, chickens, or cheerful boys... symbolizing vitality and growth. People avoid hanging “unlucky” paintings like those depicting fights or lawsuits.

On the first day of the year, Vietnamese people are very superstitious about borrowing, demanding debts, and repaying debts. Because borrowing at the beginning of the year is an omen of shortages throughout the year; lending at the beginning of the year will scatter money; demanding debts at the beginning of the year can cause disharmony and make debt collectors tired all year chasing after debts; repaying debts at the beginning of the year is like taking luck out of the house.

In the old days, our ancestors had a custom, from the 23rd of December when they set up the New Year tree until the end of the 7th day of the Lunar New Year, they would not ask about debts and loans. This ensured that everyone enjoyed Tet peacefully, with no noisy disputes or arguments among neighbors when the New Year came.

Avoid Needlework on the First Day of Tet because it is believed that if you engage in needlework on the first day of Tet, your child's eyes will be small and flat like a needle.

Traditionally, it is believed that engaging in sewing and mending in the new year will bring hardship and suffering to the household, facing shortages throughout the year. Many also believe that pregnant women who touch needles on the first day of Tet will bring bad luck to their child.

Buying items at the beginning of the year is crucial. Those items are considered as purchases for luck and prosperity because 'what you buy is what you get'. At the start of the year, people avoid buying knives, cutting boards, mortars, and pestles... 'Buying salt at the beginning of the year, lime at the end'. Buying salt at the beginning of the year symbolizes a flavorful and rich year ahead.

Buying lime at the end of the year is to scatter around the four corners of the house to ward off evil spirits. Knives and scissors carry negative energy, so it's best to avoid handling them on the first day of the year, especially on Tet's first day. To address this, families should store away knives and scissors, leaving only the essentials.

According to those knowledgeable about taboos and superstitions, the belief that 'On the 5th, 14th, 23rd, going out is like doing business' has been around for a long time.

In reality, from ancient times to the present, many people often choose auspicious days and months to organize engagement ceremonies, weddings, moving house, groundbreaking ceremonies... Initially, it's a matter of complete faith in spirituality, later it's a peace of mind to conduct tasks. Therefore, people rarely choose the 5th, 14th, and 23rd days (lunar calendar) to go out, go shopping, or start work...

Our ancestors attached great importance and believed that the 5th, 14th, and 23rd days are halfway days, therefore, everything done on these days is only halfway, not smooth, difficult to succeed. According to ancient Chinese almanacs, the three days, the 5th, 14th, and 23rd, are the three major ominous days in each month, so they are called 'Inauspicious Moon Days'.

According to folk beliefs, the first two days of the year are the days when the water deity is born, so avoiding washing clothes will help avoid offending the divine, leading to bad luck. In addition, it is advisable to avoid wearing black or white clothes and instead wear clothes with vibrant colors on Tet day. Black and white symbolize mourning and bad luck. Therefore, on Tet day, people often avoid wearing black or white clothes.

Instead, they often wear new outfits with bright colors like red and yellow, hoping for a new year filled with luck and happiness.

Our elders have taught us: “Teeth and hair are the cornerstones of a person”. Therefore, cutting hair on the first day of the new year is considered to diminish the good foundation that one has built in the past year. If you need a haircut, it's advisable to choose the last days of the year, before Tet, for the haircut.

Similarly, trimming fingernails and toenails should be avoided, as they are parts of the body. In the first days of the new year, it's not recommended to cut off anything that belongs to the body. According to the spiritual beliefs of the Vietnamese people, cutting fingernails and toenails on the 1st day of the new year will bring about misfortune and illness.

In some rural areas in the Southern region, there is a tradition of avoiding leaving the rice grinder empty because it symbolizes loss and a poor harvest for the coming year. Even for families that don't cultivate crops, they also avoid leaving the rice container empty, believing that the next year will be difficult and their endeavors won't be fruitful.

Therefore, they often put some rice grains into the grinder, hoping for a bountiful harvest in the upcoming year. Alternatively, they may fill the rice container, hoping for a year without losses or scarcity.

With the belief that the first day of the new year is for welcoming prosperity and luck into the home, our elders have compiled a set of prohibitions to avoid misfortune, among which is: Avoid visiting to give New Year's wishes on the morning of the 1st day.

Vietnamese people typically refrain from visiting others to give New Year's wishes on the morning of the first day to avoid bringing bad luck to their homes. In Vietnamese culture, the act of bringing luck to someone's home is significant and can affect the entire family for the entire year. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese people usually only visit relatives and close friends.

During the first days of the year, Vietnamese people often adhere to certain taboos to avoid misfortunes and undesirable situations for their families and loved ones. According to beliefs, visiting others' homes during the three Tet days and borrowing a comb to groom hair is strictly forbidden.

This act is believed to bring troubles, annoyances, and bad luck to the host throughout the year. It's the most significant taboo not to be done on Tet day. When visiting for Tet wishes, people should be cautious to avoid offending each other.

According to folk beliefs, Tet day is the most important day of the year and has a significant influence on us throughout the year. Therefore, avoiding certain unfavorable behaviors will make the new year more auspicious, and one of these taboos is: Avoid sitting or standing in front of the door.

Standing or sitting directly in front of the main door on the occasion of the new year is not only impolite but also considered an action that harms the family's prosperity. The main door is where the auspicious energy of the new year flows into the house, and blocking this flow will dissipate it, causing the family to miss out on luck, success, and happiness.

On the first day of the lunar new year, families refrain from sweeping the house or taking out the trash because according to Vietnamese beliefs, doing so will sweep away the wealth from the house.

In the southern region, after cleaning the house, the broom must be put away. If the broom goes missing on Tet day, it signifies that thieves will enter the house and steal the possessions.

Avoiding mourners from visiting to give New Year's greetings, because Tet is a joyful day for every family, so families with mourners will keep the mourning cloth for 3 days. On the first day of Tet, they also refrain from visiting to give New Year's greetings or visiting other houses. According to the beliefs of the ancients, mourners visiting to give New Year's greetings will bring misfortune to the host family for the entire year. If someone passes away on the first day of Tet, the family will not hold the funeral right away but wait until the morning of the second day.

If someone passes away on the 30th of the lunar December and the family has made prior arrangements, then they should proceed with the funeral on that day. The tradition of first-footing, being the first person to step into someone's house on the first day of Tet, determines whether luck or misfortune will come to that family for the whole year. Therefore, mourners should refrain from visiting other people's houses to avoid bringing misfortune.

Avoid lending needles because in ancient beliefs, needles symbolize warmth and prosperity in the family. If you lend needles, it's like giving away the prosperity of your own home to others, and your family may face financial troubles and lack of luck.

Older Vietnamese people, when faced with needle lending at the beginning of the new year, would 'ward off the black' by burning incense sticks at the borrower's doorstep in sets of 7 or 9, depending on the borrower's gender, accompanied by the phrase 'burn the incense, keep the good, ward off the bad', then throw the burnt incense sticks into the alleyway.

Some families avoid opening cabinets on the first day of Tet because they believe that opening cabinets to take out belongings means 'escorting' wealth out of the house. Regardless of the type of cabinet, including wardrobe cabinets, they should not be opened on the first day of Tet.

This action is believed to lead to financial loss and bad luck throughout the year. Therefore, people often prepare the clothes they need to wear in advance and hang them outside before New Year's Eve.

According to our elders, knives and scissors are considered sharp objects with negative energy. They are believed to have the ability to sever relationships, wealth, longevity, and luck of family members.

Therefore, many places avoid touching knives and scissors on the first day of the year. Some families even store away all sharp objects during the Tet holidays, leaving only essential items and hanging mirrors and lucky symbols, or placing protective talismans and figurines to attract auspicious energies and dispel negativity.

In the past, despite the vastness of the land, not every family had large enough homes to have separate bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms. Therefore, it was not uncommon for guests visiting to offer Tet wishes on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year to find someone still sleeping due to staying up late on New Year's Eve.

Upon visiting someone's home, it's customary to offer Tet wishes, however, they should refrain from wishing those still in bed. Doing so may inadvertently imply bad luck or illness upon the recipient. Therefore, if one wishes to convey their regards, it's best to wait until the person wakes up before offering Tet wishes.

Vietnamese people believe that encountering many good things in the first days of the new year brings luck for the whole year, and vice versa. Based on this belief, there are many taboos in the Lunar New Year, including the taboo against patting or putting arms around others' shoulders.

Avoid patting or putting arms around others' shoulders in the early days of the new year as it can cause discomfort, even negative reactions. Many believe that being patted on the shoulder or having someone put their arms around them during Tet can bring bad luck in love or family happiness.

In some northern regions, people seek luck for the new year by eating carp - a fish that leaps over the dragon's gate to transform into a dragon. If one eats carp during the first three days of the new year, they will have smooth sailing and success in both work and study throughout the year.

To further enhance luck, people will leave the fish tail uneaten, to always have surplus and accumulate wealth in the new year, rather than just having enough to eat and wear.

If you visit someone's house to wish them a Happy Tet and they are sleeping, it's best to wait for another opportunity rather than waking them up.

It's not just guests; even family members should absolutely avoid waking each other up during the Tet days. Let people wake up on their own. Otherwise, the person being awakened may feel pressured and hurried by others throughout the new year.

Vietnamese people often believe in the saying 'what you refrain from brings blessings,' especially on the first day of the new year. Therefore, refraining from crying, grieving, or getting angry will bring you peace of mind.

Traditionally, it is believed that how you act on the first day of the new year will influence the rest of your year. Hence, people usually refrain from crying, grieving, or getting angry on the first day of Tet to avoid bad luck. Instead, on Tet's first day, it's advisable to be joyful, laugh a lot, and think positively to wish for a year full of happiness, success, and tranquility.

According to ancient beliefs, pregnant women are forbidden to visit homes and wish Tet. Because there's a saying that goes 'bad birth, good death.' Pregnant women are believed to bring bad luck and misfortune to the family in that year.

Therefore, from a young age, everyone has probably heard their grandparents say that pregnant women shouldn't visit homes or participate in Tet activities. If encountering a pregnant woman on Tet, it's advised to avoid them and even return home immediately to avoid potential bad omens.

According to the ancients, the words spoken at the beginning of the year will influence the entire year. Therefore, if you speak kind and positive words, you'll encounter more luck and fortune. Conversely, speaking ill omens such as 'broken,' 'dead,' 'wasted'... will bring misfortune throughout the year.

These are unlucky words; instead, you should converse with others using pleasant, cheerful language, and phrases that bring luck not only to yourself but also to those around you.

Stumbling, tripping is also considered unlucky. If unfortunate enough to fall, it may bring misfortune for the entire year. Stumbling or tripping symbolizes encountering obstacles, difficulties, and inconvenience.

Moreover, some people may even face bankruptcy, breakdowns in work, or life. Therefore, in the first few days of the new year, you should be careful not to stumble, trip to avoid misfortune for the entire year.