The Year of the Fire Horse is about to begin
Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, starts with the second new moon following December’s winter solstice, typically occurring between late January and late February. The precise date shifts according to each lunar cycle – and in 2026 the year of the Fire Horse starts tomorrow, on February 17.
Plenty of superstitions surround Chinese New Year, including activities you “shouldn’t do” when it begins for fear of “bringing misfortune”. These include wearing particular colours and consuming certain foods, with even a simple bowl of breakfast porridge deemed “unlucky”.
This new Lunar New Year ushers in a 15-day Spring Festival, marking the period from new moon to full moon with celebrations, though this timeframe also carries taboos associated with fortune or misfortune. The year of the Fire Horse is believed to be particularly potent, meaning anyone who’s remotely superstitious will want to guarantee they begin this lunar-based celebration in the “luckiest” manner achievable.
Your Chinese zodiac sign corresponds with the year, meaning anyone born on February 17 (until the subsequent Chinese New Year in 2027) will be a Fire Horse. Numerous other creatures exist under which a person can be born including rabbit, pig, dog, rat and ox, amongst others.
Each annual lunar cycle also incorporates an element: fire, earth, metal, wood or water. These are additionally connected numerologically to the final digits of a year – and as the Fire Horse year arrives, “wearing red” is regarded as a “lucky” colour, explains the Express. To steer clear of misfortune and bad luck, however, there are six activities you should refrain from on the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to travel website China Highlights.
Six activities to steer clear of on Chinese New Year’s day:
1. Don’t sweep or dispose of rubbish
“The act of sweeping on this day is associated with sweeping wealth away”, China Highlights cautioned online. Whilst taking your rubbish out on Chinese New Year’s day “symbolizes dumping out the good luck or good fortune from the house”.
2. Steer clear of “unlucky” words
China Highlights clarified this on their website: “Nobody wants to hear words with negative meanings during the Lunar New Year period. Avoid saying words related to death, sickness, poverty, ghosts. People replace them with euphemisms if they need to talk about such topics, for example saying ‘somebody is gone’ instead of ‘somebody died’.”
3. No breakfast porridge
Chinese traditions and superstitions dictate you should not “eat porridge and meat for breakfast” on the first day of the lunar year. The association of modest porridge oats with “poverty” means consuming a bowl for breakfast on Chinese New Year’s first day could be a “bad omen” and it manifests for a “poor year ahead”.
4. Steer clear of washing or cutting hair
The China Highlights website clarified: “Hair must not be washed on Chinese New Year’s Day, it is seen as not a good thing to ‘wash one’s fortune away’ at the beginning of the New Year. Avoid cutting hair on this day, as it is believed that it might bring misfortune to uncles.”
5. Don’t wash clothes
People “do not wash clothes on the first and second day of the new year”, because these two days are “celebrated as the birthday of the water god”. Washing your clothes on these two days is regarded as “disrespect to the god of water” in Chinese superstitions, alongside a “pouring away of wealth” belief.
6. Do not wear black or white clothing
As stated earlier, “red is a lucky colour” during Chinese New Year, though there are other hues that ought to be steered clear of. China Highlights said: “Do not wear white or black clothes as these two colours are associated with mourning.”
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