Lincoln Tan: Don't touch a broom today

:30AM Thursday February 07, 2008
By Lincoln Tan

Okay, so you ushered in 2008 and got drunk in the process.

Well here's another excuse to celebrate yet another New Year today. Chinese New Year.

Today marks the first day of chun jie, spring festival, which is celebrated by people of Chinese ethnicity the world over.

This is the real new year, at least for me and those who follow the lunar calendar, and one which has more drama, more tradition and, most importantly, causes far less trouble than the other one.

Even the name - the Year of the Rat - has a cool ring to it, sounding like a title of a Hollywood mafia-kung fu movie flick unlike the other one, which is identified only by digits.

According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, today marks the entry of the Earth Rat and for the feng shui believers, the elements of earth and water will be dominant this year.

Earth represents stability, so expect things to be rather smooth sailing for the first half of the year - but appearance of water in the second half, hinting at turbulence means we can expect some upheavals.


But those born in the year of the Ox, Dragon or Monkey (me!) are supposed to be in harmony with the Rat, and would possibly escape the turbulence. Phew!

Thanks to the internet and the many feng shui websites, writers on these topics no longer need to be wise to sound wise, but being Chinese does help make this pseudo-forecast sound that much more authentic.

It's great celebrating the festival in New Zealand, unlike back where I came from, where bookings for Chinese New Year dinner must be made months ahead.

You can rest assured you'll be lucky enough to find empty tables at most restaurants here.

Luck is everything during Chinese New Year. Do things right today, and your year will be filled with fortune, prosperity and money. Inauspicious? Well, you can't be - that's bad luck.

Some of the other rules: no using the broom, because that would mean sweeping your luck away, no swearing and most definitely no violence, otherwise you'll get everything back a hundredfold over the year.

I do wonder if some of these were put in place by the Chinese because they could foresee New Year parties running wild, and thought the threat of bad luck was more effective in holding the peace than the police.

But if you want to play it safe with luck, then you must wear red today.


If red is not your thing, then do what wise Chinese would do today - wear red underwear.

It is a widespread belief that red panties bring good luck to the wearer during Chinese New Year, so go for it. And if you're game on wearing it Superman-style - red underwear on the outside - then you've probably increased your chances of winning Lotto by leaps and bounds.

The Rat is the first sign of the 12-animal Chinese zodiac calendar, so this is supposed to be a year of beginnings.

If you have never celebrated Chinese New Year, then make this a new beginning and celebrate your first.

Cheers (with Chinese tea of course), and Gongxi Facai!