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As the most significant and oldest festival in China， Chinese New Year （Spring Festival） is associated with a great deal of traditions and customs. Some of them are dying out， so people feel that the festival become less interesting and conventional1. Now， let’s discover the ten vanishing traditions you may not know.
1. Worshiping the Kitchen God2
Legend has it that on December 23rd of lunar calendar the Kitchen God will make a year-end report about human’s good and evil deeds to the Jade Emperor of heaven.
Toward evening， each family is anxious about their evil deeds exposed to the emperor， so they burn incense， set off firecrackers and worship the god with ‘bribery’ like cakes， nuts and dried fruits. Therefore， the Kitchen God will only report their good side. In fact， the enshrining activity is mainly for a smooth， wealthy and healthy expectation for the future life.
Now， most people are using gas stove and electric cooker instead of fire stove， so the superstition also disappears. You know how dangerous it is to worship by a gas cooker with burning incense and firecrackers indoors.
2. Kowtowing to Elders
Chinese New Year greeting etiquette3 is not like kissing， embrace and handshaking in western countries. In the past， the first thing for a New Year visit started with kowtowing to the elders. No matter how old you are， if there is someone older than you， you need to kneel down to show respect and grateful feeling to the elders. It is really a physical challenging work if you have a big family and you happen to be the youngest.
Nowadays， the young generation rejects such a way of greeting， so the etiquette is abandoned gradually in modern cities， while in some rural areas， the tradition is still kept.
3. Staying Up on the New Year’s Eve
According to the legend story， the fierce monster Nian would come to harm people and livestock4 on the Eve， which would cause great damage to people’s a whole year efforts. To avoid its attack， people will shut doors and stay in sober mind. Staying up all night， people will find something to kill the time， such as chatting， eating and gambling. It is really difficult to keep restless for a whole night， so Chinese people now begin to abandon this tradition.
4. No Sweeping and Dumping on the New Year’s Day
In the old days， it was considered as improper doings to make a sweeping or dumping on the first day of the festival， for it foreboded that all the good luck and fortune would be driven far. However， people now are likely to keep the house clean and tidy， especially when they have guests. Therefore， the practice is weeded out. 5. Open-door Firecracker
People will fall over each other to set off the firecrackers in the early morning of New Year’s Day. Once they wake up， it is the first thing to do. People wish that they can welcome the good luck inside when they open the doors. Some companies will also set off the open-door firecrackers during 6th to 8th of lunar January when people returns to work. The firecrackers lead to air pollution and also bring to potential hazard， so now the tradition is more commonly seen in rural areas.
6. Offering Sacrifices5 to the God of Wealth
Folklore has it that the fifth day of the Spring Festival is the God of Wealth’s birthday. People want the god to visit their houses with good luck， so they prepare a big dinner at home to celebrate the god’s birthday. The sacrifices ceremony usually begins around 24：00 to 01：00am on that day. In the present days， the custom has been vanishing gradually.
7. Staying Indoors on the Third Day of the New Year
According to the tradition superstition6， the third day is called Chigou’s Day. Chigou， literally ‘red dog’， is the God of Rage， who is irritable. If people travel outside， they may have a squabble or quarrel with others. Now， Spring Festival is a good chance for separated friends and families to get together， so people do not care about the taboo at all.
8. Sending the Poor Devil Away
The sixth day of Chinese New Year is the time to send the Poor Devil away in folklore. The Poor Devil is said to be a short and thin man who likes dressing in rags and eating porridge. Even given new clothes， he would wear it after tearing the clothes or burning holes on them. After his death， people make the sixth day as the day to send him away. On this day， all the trash should be littered， which symbolizes that all the poverty and hardship will be thrown away.
9. Going to the Butcher’s on December 26th
December 26th of the lunar calendar used to be the day to go to the butcher’s for meat shopping. In the past， people could only enjoy the meat during festivals because of poverty. Some people raised livestock on their own， and they would also find a butcher to help slaughter their pigs， oxen or sheep. Now， people don’t prepare the festival food on a fixed day， but in a flexible and free schedule.
10. Washing and Bathing on December 27th or 28th
Before the New Year， people will wash all their dirty clothes on that day， for they think all the filth7 will be washed away and the good luck is coming. Taking a bath on December 28th of the lunar calendar is also needed， all the sickness will be expelled away， and health will sustain. Since every household has the washing machine and people get used to taking daily shower， so this custom has faded away.
1. Worshiping the Kitchen God2
Legend has it that on December 23rd of lunar calendar the Kitchen God will make a year-end report about human’s good and evil deeds to the Jade Emperor of heaven.
Toward evening， each family is anxious about their evil deeds exposed to the emperor， so they burn incense， set off firecrackers and worship the god with ‘bribery’ like cakes， nuts and dried fruits. Therefore， the Kitchen God will only report their good side. In fact， the enshrining activity is mainly for a smooth， wealthy and healthy expectation for the future life.
Now， most people are using gas stove and electric cooker instead of fire stove， so the superstition also disappears. You know how dangerous it is to worship by a gas cooker with burning incense and firecrackers indoors.
2. Kowtowing to Elders
Chinese New Year greeting etiquette3 is not like kissing， embrace and handshaking in western countries. In the past， the first thing for a New Year visit started with kowtowing to the elders. No matter how old you are， if there is someone older than you， you need to kneel down to show respect and grateful feeling to the elders. It is really a physical challenging work if you have a big family and you happen to be the youngest.
Nowadays， the young generation rejects such a way of greeting， so the etiquette is abandoned gradually in modern cities， while in some rural areas， the tradition is still kept.
3. Staying Up on the New Year’s Eve
According to the legend story， the fierce monster Nian would come to harm people and livestock4 on the Eve， which would cause great damage to people’s a whole year efforts. To avoid its attack， people will shut doors and stay in sober mind. Staying up all night， people will find something to kill the time， such as chatting， eating and gambling. It is really difficult to keep restless for a whole night， so Chinese people now begin to abandon this tradition.
4. No Sweeping and Dumping on the New Year’s Day
In the old days， it was considered as improper doings to make a sweeping or dumping on the first day of the festival， for it foreboded that all the good luck and fortune would be driven far. However， people now are likely to keep the house clean and tidy， especially when they have guests. Therefore， the practice is weeded out. 5. Open-door Firecracker
People will fall over each other to set off the firecrackers in the early morning of New Year’s Day. Once they wake up， it is the first thing to do. People wish that they can welcome the good luck inside when they open the doors. Some companies will also set off the open-door firecrackers during 6th to 8th of lunar January when people returns to work. The firecrackers lead to air pollution and also bring to potential hazard， so now the tradition is more commonly seen in rural areas.
6. Offering Sacrifices5 to the God of Wealth
Folklore has it that the fifth day of the Spring Festival is the God of Wealth’s birthday. People want the god to visit their houses with good luck， so they prepare a big dinner at home to celebrate the god’s birthday. The sacrifices ceremony usually begins around 24：00 to 01：00am on that day. In the present days， the custom has been vanishing gradually.
7. Staying Indoors on the Third Day of the New Year
According to the tradition superstition6， the third day is called Chigou’s Day. Chigou， literally ‘red dog’， is the God of Rage， who is irritable. If people travel outside， they may have a squabble or quarrel with others. Now， Spring Festival is a good chance for separated friends and families to get together， so people do not care about the taboo at all.
8. Sending the Poor Devil Away
The sixth day of Chinese New Year is the time to send the Poor Devil away in folklore. The Poor Devil is said to be a short and thin man who likes dressing in rags and eating porridge. Even given new clothes， he would wear it after tearing the clothes or burning holes on them. After his death， people make the sixth day as the day to send him away. On this day， all the trash should be littered， which symbolizes that all the poverty and hardship will be thrown away.
9. Going to the Butcher’s on December 26th
December 26th of the lunar calendar used to be the day to go to the butcher’s for meat shopping. In the past， people could only enjoy the meat during festivals because of poverty. Some people raised livestock on their own， and they would also find a butcher to help slaughter their pigs， oxen or sheep. Now， people don’t prepare the festival food on a fixed day， but in a flexible and free schedule.
10. Washing and Bathing on December 27th or 28th
Before the New Year， people will wash all their dirty clothes on that day， for they think all the filth7 will be washed away and the good luck is coming. Taking a bath on December 28th of the lunar calendar is also needed， all the sickness will be expelled away， and health will sustain. Since every household has the washing machine and people get used to taking daily shower， so this custom has faded away.