Stickers for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year (CNY) is coming in about 2 weeks time and those who celebrate this festive occasion would begin preparations before the start of the CNY. Traditionally, many things are done prior to the CNY celebrations, this includes:

Spring Cleaning, which is done on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month. It is a belief that cleaning the house and clearing out unnecessary items will chase away bad luck and bring good fortune to the household.

On the 26th day of the 12th lunar month, people also do some shopping for CNY, such as gifts for family and friends, food items, and decorations. People also buy new clothes to be worn on CNY as it symbolises a fresh start for the new year, it is a belief that wearing new clothes (especially red coloured ones) is auspicious and will chase away evil spirits and bad fortune.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, which falls on the 29th or 30th day of the 12th lunar month, people also paste Spring Couplets or Chūn Lián (春联) on the front door of their home. The Spring Couplets will be red papers with well-wishes traditionally written in black or gold Chinese Characters. In the evening, families would gather for a reunion dinner. (Depending on the lunar calendar, there might be 29 or 30 days in the 12th lunar month, for the year of the Ox, it's 29 days.)

Families will also "守岁(睡)" (Shǒu Suì), which is to stay up throughout the night. The word "守" means to Guard, to Observe, or to Keep, and "岁" means age or year, it is also homophonic to the word "睡" which means Sleep. So to "守睡" (stay up) is like to "守岁" in a homophonic sense.

For the younger ones, "守岁" means to safeguard the year, the significance of doing so is to "keep the years" for their elders so that they will have a prolonged life. The longer they "守睡" (stay up), the more "岁" (years) they keep for their elders. For the elder ones, to "守岁" means bidding farewell to the old year, it also has the significance of cherishing time before it's gone, in this context, cherishing the old year as it comes to an end.

Chinese New Year begins on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, in Singapore, families will visit their relatives and friends on the 1st & 2nd day of Chinese New Year. Red packets will be given to children and unmarried singles by their parents, grandparents, and elders. In return, they will greet them with well-wishes like "恭喜发财" (Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái), which means "Wishing you good wealth and prosperity". In a literal sense, "恭喜" means "Congratulations", "发财" means "Strike it rich". So it also sounds like great fortune has come immediately to the person giving the red packet.

As times have changed, in modern times, most people don't follow the traditional timeline in preparation for Chinese New Year, but they still carry on with the traditions.