One common tradition is cleaning your house thoroughly on or before New Year's Eve. Out with the old, in with the new they say. Most people believe in the idea that cleaning your house before the first day of the New Year ensures that you don't carry in your old, somewhat soiled, life into the New Year.
Just before the very end of the year, Japanese people participate in what is commonly known as “osouji,” a deep cleaning of one's household that is highly believed to cleanse the home and purify the residence in order to welcome “Toshigami,” the kami (Shinto deity) of the New Year.
It is traditional for families to clean their houses and the areas surrounding before the start of the new year. The word 'dust' in Chinese is a homophone for 'old', thus cleaning the house is symbolic of driving away the bad luck of the previous year to allow for a new start.
For centuries, the Chinese have believed cleaning on the first couple of days of a new year, especially sweeping on New Year's Day, brings bad luck. Since this seems to be one of the oldest New Year's superstitions, go ahead and skip the sweeping.
According to Chinese lore, tidying on New Year's Day is thought to clean away the good luck you've stored up for the new year.
According to folklore, if you wash clothes on New Year's Day, you'll be “washing for the dead” or washing a loved one away -- meaning someone in your household will die in the coming year. Get your laundry washed, dried, folded and put away by New Year's Eve.
One common tradition is cleaning your house thoroughly on or before New Year's Eve. Out with the old, in with the new they say. Most people believe in the idea that cleaning your house before the first day of the New Year ensures that you don't carry in your old, somewhat soiled, life into the New Year.
Make sure you clean up and throw out your trash BEFORE midnight. Otherwise you're going to have to wait till the second day of the new lunar year. Cleaning of any kind on the first day is strictly forbidden.
I Suggest You Consider a Day in the Beginning of the Week
If you have your cleaning service come Monday or Tuesday the house will stay pretty clean all week. Then when Friday comes, it is still in pretty good shape. During the weekend, in most households, is when the mess happens.
Even those lucky enough to have professional maid services differ on their favorite day for cleaning: Friday is the day most requested because customers want their houses to be clean and neat for the weekend.
A good rule of thumb is to pressure wash your house between the months of March and November. This is the ideal window of time to make sure your home is clean and protected before harsh winter weather and freezing temperatures set in.
Attributed to cultures around the world, lighting a candle or starting a fire in the fireplace on the first night in a new home is one of the oldest housewarming traditions. The light from the candle is said to bless the new occupants of the home by casting away darkness and warding off evil spirits.
When Chinese New Year's Day comes, they take a day or days off from work and also don't do housework. It's considered unlucky to do work and chores on the first day of the year as it symbolizes going through hardships through the year.
In December, the Japanese conduct a year-end-cleaning. They clean houses, schools, offices and public spaces to prepare for the coming New Year. It is called Oosouji (大掃除), which literally means “Big Cleaning.” The tradition goes all the way back to Heian period (794 – 1185).
This is a Latin American custom where single people crawl under a table at midnight for good luck in finding love in the new year, according to San Antonio Express News. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter.
Greens, Black-Eyed Peas, Cornbread, and Ham | Photo by Meredith. Even folks who aren't from the Southern United States go all in on eating black-eyed peas and leafy greens for good luck on New Year's Day. Add a slice of cornbread, and you've got "peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold."
The superstition of putting money outside on New Year's Eve may have originated in Scotland, but the exact source is unknown. Leaving money out on New Year's Eve is said to keep money coming into the house all year. And that's something we can all hope for.
According to Southern lore, you will have good luck for the entire year if you have the traditional New Year's Day supper. In the South, that means a meal of collard greens, hoppin' John, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and pot likker soup.
Can you dry clothes on new years day? No you cannot dry clothes on new years day, if you are superstitious. According to superstition you will be drying clothes for the rest of the year. Probably best to wait till the 2nd of January for drying your clothes.
It's also suggested you should not eat certain things on New Year's Eve, in order to prevent bad luck for the year ahead, such as lobster and chicken. Since lobsters can move backwards, eating them before the stroke of midnight may cause setbacks. For chickens, the idea is similar as they can scratch backwards.
Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year's foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks displays.
It is said the concept of 'new year' originated in ancient Babylon some 4,000 years ago, in the year 2,000 BC. Babylonians conceptualised the new year with an 11-day celebration called 'Akitu' that included a different rite on each day, on the first new moon after the vernal equinox (typically around late March).