Traditional Chinese New Year Customs: A Day-by-Day Guide

Day 1: Do not use brooms or do any sewing.
Day 2: Married daughters visit their parents with their husbands, so this is commonly called “Son-in-Law Welcoming Day.”
Day 3: Also called Red Dog Day, a name that sounds like “red mouth” in Chinese. People usually avoid making New Year visits, as arguments are said to be more likely on this day.
Day 4: A day to worship the God of Wealth. In the past, bosses who wanted to fire someone would leave them out of the worship ceremony.
Day 5: Commonly called “Breaking Five,” this is the day to “drive away the five kinds of poverty”: poverty of wisdom, learning, literary talent, fortune, and social connections.
Day 6: Shops and restaurants officially reopen, setting off as many firecrackers as on New Year’s Eve.
Day 7: Human Day—the birthday of humankind.
Day 8: Grain Day, said to be the birthday of millet. Also called the Star Festival, it is said to be the day when the stars descend to earth.
Day 9: Traditionally celebrated as the Jade Emperor’s birthday, with grand ceremonies to worship Heaven.
Day 10: The birthday of stones. Stone tools such as mills and grindstones must not be used on this day, and stones themselves may even be worshipped.
On the eleventh, bustle and chatter; on the twelfth, build lantern canopies; on the thirteenth, light the lanterns; on the fourteenth, the lanterns shine bright; on the fifteenth, celebrate the full moon; on the sixteenth, the lantern festivities end.