Happy new year in Chinatown!

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Happy New Year of the Dog!

 

 

To kick off this Chinese new year in auspicious circumstances, follow our "to-do" guide.

 

To do before that day

Clean your house to sweep away accumulated dust and bad luck during the previous year

Decorate your house with red and gold ornaments and paper cuts, outside as well as inside the house

Cook. Families usually gather on New Year's Eve to prepare food like Chinese dumpling (Jiaozi), one of them containing a coin that will bring luck to whoever finds it!

 

To do on that day

Gather with your Family: like in the western culture, this day should be a day of forgiveness and love: wish luck to everyone around you!

Share Food: a Tray of Togetherness, usually an octagon-shaped tray, is filled with symbolic food like lotus seeds.

Plant a bloom to get prosperity for your household.

Offer a sacrifice to the Kitchen God who will report your family's good behavior to Heaven ; one of the most popular dish is the Nian Gao Cake.

Eat oranges and tangerines to bring you abundant happiness, wealth and good luck.

Give a lucky red envelope containing money to children.

 

To be avoided that day and a few days after

Do not dust and sweep your house and doorstep : it might sweep away good fortune at the same time!

 

 

 

If you want to know more about Chinese New Year celebrations in San Francisco... click here.